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State Senate

Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below State Senate races on your ballot.

  • Virginia’s new 17th State Senate district encompasses Suffolk City, Isle of Wight County, parts of Portsmouth City, Southampton County, Brunswick County, Greensville County, Franklin City, parts of Dinwiddie County, Emporia City, and parts of Chesapeake City. With over 164,000 registered voters, this is a competitive district that doesn’t lean in one direction or another.

    Democrat Amy Laufer is a former middle school teacher. She taught in Jamaica as a Peace Corps volunteer before teaching at Louisa Middle School and Tandem Friends School in Charlottesville. Laufer has served on the Charlottesville City School Board and is the founder of Virginia’s List, an organization that supports Democratic women running for office.

    Laufer’s platform prioritizes education, including raising teacher pay and investing in pre-k classes. She also supports criminal justice reform and tackling the problem of mass incarceration. Laufer supports Medicaid expansion, would vote to repeal the punitive work requirements, and will continue to fight to ensure everyone has access to quality, affordable health care. She also supports the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.

    Incumbent Republican Senator Bryce Reeves voted against Medicaid expansion and against raising the minimum wage in Virginia. He is anti-choice and opposes commonsense gun violence prevention measures. Senator Reeves also voted against legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing and public employment.

    Laufer is the progressive choice in this race.

  • Originally from Portsmouth, incumbent Senator Louise Lucas received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Norfolk State University. She is a Deaconess at the New Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Lucas was elected to the state Senate in 1991.

    Lucas has co-sponsored legislation to prohitbit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. She has supported Medicaid expansion and voted to raise the minimum wage in Virginia. Lucas is a champion for voting rights and has introduced constitutional amendments to guarantee the right to vote in Virginia and reform the Commonwealth’s redistricting process. She is reliably pro-choice and has introduced legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases in Virignia.

    She is running unopposed and is the progressive choice for this race.

    Last updated: 2023-04-05

    L. Louise Lucas

    Originally from Portsmouth, incumbent Senator Louise Lucas received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Norfolk State University. She is a Deaconess at the New Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Lucas was elected to the state Senate in 1991.

    Originally from Portsmouth, incumbent Senator Louise Lucas received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Norfolk State University. She is a Deaconess at the New Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Lucas was elected to the state Senate in 1991.

    Lucas has co-sponsored legislation to prohitbit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. She has supported Medicaid expansion and voted to raise the minimum wage in Virginia. Lucas is a champion for voting rights and has introduced constitutional amendments to guarantee the right to vote in Virginia and reform the Commonwealth’s redistricting process. She is reliably pro-choice and has introduced legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases in Virignia.

    She is running unopposed and is the progressive choice for this race.

    L. Louise Lucas

    Originally from Portsmouth, incumbent Senator Louise Lucas received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Norfolk State University. She is a Deaconess at the New Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Lucas was elected to the state Senate in 1991.

House of Delegates

Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below House of Delegate races on your ballot.

  • Virginia’s new 88th House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Portsmouth City. With almost 60,000 registered voters, this district leans strongly Democratic.

    Democratic candidate Jessica Foster is a mom, small business owner, and attorney. She represents undocumented immigrant children in need of special immigrant status who have been abandoned or are victims of child abuse and neglect. Her platform includes increased education funding, protecting the healthcare rights of the poor, criminal and juvenile justice reform, gun violence prevention, and protecting the environment.

    Incumbent Republican Delegate Mark Cole has been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2002. He sponsored House Bill 663, a bathroom bill restricting public restroom use according to a person's "anatomical sex", defined as "the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined by a person's anatomy," with violators liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $50. Delegate Cole also supports anti-immigrant bills. As chair of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, Cole has led the charge for restrictive voting bills that make it more difficult for Virginians to access the ballot.

    Jessica Foster is the more progressive choice in this race.

  • Endorsed By: Virginia AFL-CIO
  • Virginia’s new 91st House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Chesapeake City and parts of Portsmouth City. With almost 60,000 registered voters, this district leans strongly Democratic.

    Democratic candidate Martha Mugler is a native of Hampton and lives in Poquoson with her husband and two children. Mugler was elected to the Hampton School Board in 2008, and is currently serving her third term.

    She vows to protect the Chesapeake Bay and address the effects of climate change and sea level rise. She supports a person’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion without politically-motivated restrictions. She also supports efforts to reform Virginia’s cash bail system that imprisons people who have not been convicted of a crime unless they can pay for release.

    Her opponent, Republican Colleen Holcomb, is the vice-president of Government Relations of Eagle Forum, a right-wing, anti-choice, anti-immigrant organization. Holcomb opposes Medicaid expansion.

    Martha Mugler is the more progressive choice in this race.