Senate District 008

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.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Hala Ayala was elected to the House of Delegates in 2017. She is a graduate of the Virginia Progressive Leadership Project. As Delegate, she co-sponsored a bill that seeks to keep guns away from people posing a substantial risk of harming themselves or others. She’s a strong advocate for progressive priorities that help working families like paid family leave, paid sick leave, and increasing the minimum wage. She also voted for Medicaid expansion, allowing an additional 300,000 Virginians to access health care when they need it.

Her opponent is former Republican Delegate Richard Anderson. As Delegate, Anderson voted for bills that shame and stigmatize women who seek an abortion and voted against a program that would have allowed low-income women to access birth control. He also had an A rating from the National Rifle Association and voted against a commonsense bill that would have required background checks before guns can be purchased.

Delegate Ayala is the more progressive choice in this race because of her support for Medicaid expansion, paid family leave, and increasing the minimum wage.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Luke Torian was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2009. He currently serves as the Pastor of First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries. He and his wife live in Woodbridge and have one daughter.Delegate Torian has played a major role in several organizations including Action in Community Through Service (ACTS), an organization designed to alleviate hunger, homelessness, and domestic violence in the community. He is one of the founders of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE), an organization dedicated to making change on social justice issues

Torian has supported bills that ensure affordable housing and in-state tuition for all Virginians. Delegate Torian also voted against two bills that would have made it more difficult for people to access abortion in Virginia. He supports increasing the minimum wage and voted against a bill that would have prevented localities from raising the minimum wage.

Little is known about Delegate Torian’s Republican opponent, Maria Martin. Martin has been an American citizen since 1997, but she doesn’t have a clear stance on immigration rights. She does not support a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. She believes in lowering taxes and limiting government spending.

Due to his stance on affordable housing, in-state tuition for immigrants, and support for other progressive priorities, Delegate Torian is the more 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.