Democrat and Former Delegate Alex Askew is a Virginia Beach native who was raised by a public school teacher. He worked for nearly seven election cycles on various local, state-wide, and national campaigns. He served as a Chief of Staff for the Virginia House of Delegates, where he helped craft groundbreaking legislation such as the nationwide Ashanti Alert, Medicaid expansion, affordable housing expansion, and school safety initiatives. In his term as the Delegate for the 85th District, he had nine bills signed into law, with 7 of them receiving unanimous bipartisan support. In 2022, he was narrowly defeated and conceded the seat. He is now running to be reelected in the newly-redrawn 95th district.

Fmr. Del. Askew has been a staunch defender of equality. He worked alongside Delegate Dolores McQuinn and sponsored HB1993, which requires state agencies to establish and maintain comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plans in coordination with the Governor’s Chief Diversity Officer. “The comprehensive emphasis on equity-minded legislation throughout the 2021 General Assembly session has been historic,” said Secretary of Administration Grindly Johnson. “This legislation makes Virginia a national exemplar in fostering the business case for organizational effectiveness in our state agencies.”

Fmr. Del. Askew has also been an advocate for common-sense gun violence prevention. He voted for HB 2128, which increases the time for the State Department to complete firearm Background Checks, a necessary step in preventing unsafe gun owners from slipping through the cracks. He also voted for HB 2276, which classifies the manufacture, import, sale, transfer, and possession of certain firearms as a Class 5 felony. These measures are indicative of Fmr. Del. Askew’s commitment to firearm safety and his understanding of the policies that can help prevent tragedies.

Fmr. Del. Askew’s record also shows he is committed to racial and economic justice. As delegate, he passed a law that makes it a hate crime to intentionally make a false 911 call on the basis of race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, or national origin. Additionally, he voted for HJ 555, which restores the civil and voting rights for returning citizens after they have completed their jail sentences. He worked with the Virginia Emergency Management Association to protect minority and other vulnerable communities across Hampton Roads—a region prone to disasters and storm flooding.

He has also been clear on abortion access and healthcare. After Texas passed a horrendously restrictive abortion law in 2021, he said simply: “Repro care is health care. Repro justice is economic justice. Repro rights are human rights.” As Delegate, he voted to repeal the abortion prohibition in Virginia health insurance plans and establish the Reproductive Health Protection Act. His positions have earned him an endorsement from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.

Fmr. Del. Askew is running unopposed, but because of his position on firearm safety, reproductive rights, and criminal justice, he is still the progressive choice in this race. Close Window