House District 053

Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal, a Navy veteran, lives in Virginia Beach with her family. She earned her graduate degree from Old Dominion University while on active duty. Cotter Smasal coaches youth sports and serves on the executive board of her local Parent Teacher Association.

Cotter Smasal supports redistricting reform and ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. She also supports expanding affordable, accessible healthcare to all Virginians.

Her opponent, incumbent Republican Senator Bill DeSteph, voted against Medicaid expansion and against raising the minimum wage. He has repeatedly voted for legislation that restricts voting rights. He is anti-choice and voted for legislation to end state funding for abortions. He is supportive of discrimination on the basis of religion, and has voted for bills that scapegoat immigrant communities.

Missy Cotter Smasal in the more progressive choice.

Amanda Pohl has lived in Virginia for most of her life. She completed seminary at Baptist Theological Seminary and holds a master’s degree in Patient Counseling and Social Work with a focus on Administration, Planning, and Policy Practice from Virginia Commonwealth University.

In her campaign, Pohl has prioritized continuing to expand access to health care in Virginia and investing in public schools. She supports policies to protect LGBTQ Virginians and expand access to reproductive health care. She also supports paid family and medical leave policies. She supports same day voter registration and expanding absentee voting in Virginia.

Her opponent, incumbent Republican Senator Amanda Chase, opposes reproductive rights and common sense gun violence prevention measures. She voted against raising the minimum wage and expanding Medicaid in Virginia. She has come under fire for callous comments about sexual assault and accusations she took advantage of the Capitol Police to chauffeur her to events with lobbyists.

Amanda Pohl is the progressive choice in this race.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Marcus Simon was elected to the House of Delegates in 2013. He attended law school at American University's Washington College of Law. After graduating, Simon joined the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps as a Captain, where he handled officer misconduct and criminal cases. In 2008, he co-founded the Law Firm of Leggett, Simon, Freemyers & Lyon and Ekko.

Delegate Simon has been outspoken about the need to pass commonsense gun laws like universal background checks. He has also been a champion for student loan borrowers and has proposed a bill that would protect borrowers by creating a Borrower’s Bill of Rights to ensure that predatory lenders can’t take advantage of students. He also supports raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Delegate Simon is running opposed and is the progressive choice in this race due to his support of increasing the minimum wage and combating the student loan debt crisis.