Senate District 003

Democrat Herbert Jones Jr. came to Virginia through an assignment in the Army. After leaving active duty to join the reserves, he was elected County Supervisor of New Kent County in 1999, beginning his journey in elected office. Thanks to his extensive knowledge of the military, Governor Northam appointed him to the commonwealth’s Military Advisory Council. 

Jones Jr. is pro-choice and has openly stated his support of reproductive healthcare facilities like Planned Parenthood. He supports clean, renewable energy and is in favor of common sense solutions to prevent gun violence. Jones supports raising teacher pay, increasing funding for pre-k, and apprenticeships for students. Unlike his opponent, he supports Medicaid expansion and would work to completely close the healthcare gap in Virginia.

His opponent, incumbent Senator Tommy Norment, is the Senate Majority Leader. He has consistently and vocally opposed progressive priorities. He has voted for bills that target immigrant communities and opposed bills that would increase the quality of life of those who have immigrated to the US. He has consistently opposed reproductive rights, including voting to mandate medically unnecessary ultrasounds and prohibit the use of state funds for abortion. Norment has repeatedly voted against raising the minimum wage. Because Sen. Norment is the Senate Majority Leader, the power that he holds often leads to the defeat of our bills.

Jones is the more progressive choice in this race.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Ken Plum was elected to the House of Delegates in 1982 and currently serves as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. He is a retired teacher and school administrator. Plum and his wife, Jane, are the parents of four children. He graduated with a BA from Old Dominion University and earned his Masters of Education from the University of Virginia.

Plum supports many progressive priorities like increasing the minimum wage, reforms to make voting more accessible for everyone, gun violence prevention, and driving privileges for undocumented immigrants. He wants increased job opportunities, better funding for schools and teacher salaries, and to ensure the safety of his constituents.

Running unopposed, Delegate Plum is the more progressive choice for this race.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate David Bulova was elected to the House of Delegates in 2006. He currently serves on the General Laws, Education, and Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources committees. Delegate Bulova and his family live in the Middleridge community of Fairfax. He and his wife have three children.

Delegate Bulova supports increased transportation funding with investments for expanding Metro to Centreville, bike paths, and walking trails. He also supports giving local governments the power to require sidewalks when new developments are proposed. Delegate Bulova is a strong advocate for the environment. He sponsored a solar energy bill and supports investments in clean, renewable energy. He also supports fair redistricting reform so that voters can choose their representatives, not the other way around. Delegate Bulova voted for Medicaid expansion so an additional 300,000 Virginians can access affordable health care.

Delegate Bulova is running unopposed and is the more progressive choice for this race.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Vivian Watts was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1981, but left in 1986 to serve as the Virginia Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety. She was again elected to the House of Delegates in 1996 and has served ever since. She is married and has two children and six grandchildren. Watts has been involved in many community groups and served as the Executive Director of Fairfax CASA.

As Delegate, she serves on the Courts of Justice, House Finance, and Science & Technology committees. Delegate Watts is a strong supporter of education and supports reducing class sizes and increasing teacher pay. She also supports access to reproductive health care, including access to birth control and abortion. In addition, Delegate Watts voted for Medicaid expansion and supports increasing access to mental health services for all Virginians.

Delegate Watts is being challenged by Republican candidate Nick Bell. He decided to run because of his opposition to abortion access, which is the only issue he talks about on his website.

Due to her support of reproductive rights, Medicaid expansion, and increased funding for our schools, Delegate Watts is the more progressive choice in this race.

Democratic candidate Dan Helmer is running against incumbent Republican Delegate Tim Hugo. Helmer is a combat veteran. His wife, Karen, is a public school teacher in Fairfax County. They live in Fairfax with their children.

Helmer is in favor of increasing teacher pay and investing in public schools. He supports Medicaid expansion and other solutions to increase access to affordable health care. He also supports abortion access and believes abortion is health care. As a progressive, Helmer also supports increasing the minimum wage, gun violence prevention, clean energy, and fair redistricting reform.

Delegate Tim Hugo was elected to the House of Delegates in 2003. He voted against Medicaid expansion. In 2012, he voted in favor of legislation that required people seeking an abortion to undergo a mandatory, medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound. He also has a record of making it harder to be an immigrant in Virginia by voting to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving in-state tuition at Virginia colleges and universities.

Dan Helmer is the more progressive choice in this race because of his support of increasing the minimum wage and health care access.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn has served in the House of Delegates since 2010. She is currently the Minority Leader, the first woman to hold that role. Delegate Filler-Corn is a member of the Rules, Finance, and Commerce & Labor Committees. Prior to her election as Minority Leader, she served as Vice Chair for Outreach of the House Democratic Caucus and the House Democratic Whip.

Delegate Filler-Corn is an advocate for abortion access and has supported bills that would increase birth control access and promote consent-based sex education. She supports gun violence prevention and she sponsored a bill that would have eliminated sales tax from gun sales under $1,000. She also sponsored a bill that would have increased the felony threshold to $1000, ensuring that people who make a one-time mistake aren’t branded a felon for the rest of their lives. Delegate Filler-Corn also supports increasing the minimum wage so that all Virginians can afford to live with dignity. She was a strong supporter of Medicaid expansion.

Delegate Filler-Corn is being challenged by Rachel Mace, a Libertarian, and John Wolfe, an Independent. Mace is against gun violence prevention. She also is opposed to meals taxes that help fund important projects like affordable housing. Additionally, she opposes the elimination of student debt, but offers no solutions to the student loan debt crisis. Little information is available on Wolfe’s positions on key issues.

Delegate Filler-Corn is the more progressive choice in this race because of her support of abortion access, criminal justice reform, and Medicaid expansion.