Incumbent Senator Creigh Deeds has served in the State Senate since 2001. From 1992 to 2001, he served in the House of Delegates. Senator Deeds has passed more bills than any other member of the state legislature. He was raised on his grandparent’s farm in Bath County. Before being elected to the House of Delegates, he earned his law degree and was elected as Bath County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney. He currently lives in Charlottesville with his wife and their dogs.

Senator Deeds is a strong supporter of better funding for public schools. He currently sits on the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, where he worked to address the funding gaps in the Commonwealth’s school system. He fought for higher teacher salaries, increased funding for career and technical institutions, and created the SOL Reform Committee. As a mental health reform advocate, he expanded mental health education programs in elementary and secondary schools. He hopes to raise teacher pay to above the national average and lower the cost of higher education.

Senator Deeds is an unwavering advocate for abortion access, and he understands that abortion is on the ballot in Virginia. He has been endorsed by top abortion advocacy organizations and believes in enshrining access to abortion into the Commonwealth’s constitution, voting for the Senate Joint Resolution during the 2023 General Assembly. In 2021, he voted to remove the prohibition on abortion service coverage on insurance plans offered through the state’s health benefits exchange. In 2020, he voted to pass a bill that expanded who was able to perform some abortions.

Senator Deeds is a fierce advocate for mental health reform, having lost his own son to mental illness. He worked to establish the Behavioral Health Commission and implement the use of mobile crisis services. For his work on mental health reform, Senator Deeds has gained recognition across the Commonwealth and the country. If re-elected, he will continue efforts to reform Virginia’s mental health system. Two areas of focus are growing the workforce and investing in long-term housing. Additionally, Senator Deeds supports Medicaid expansion.

During the 2023 General Assembly, Senator Deeds patroned common sense gun violence prevention bills. He looks to his own experience of losing his son to gun violence as motivation He supports an assault weapons ban and worked with the University of Virginia and community leaders to introduce a bill that would ban firearms on college campuses. Senator Deeds has also worked on legislation for universal background checks, red-flag laws, safety storage laws, and firearm purchase limitations.

Senator Deeds is facing Republican Philip Hamilton. Hamilton ran in the 2021 District 57 House of Delegates race, losing to Delegate Sally Hudson. He perpetuates false narratives about indoctrination in schools. He supports the forced outing of trans students and believes conservatives and Christians should stand “against wokeness.” The anti-LGBTQ forced outing bill Hamilton is campaigning behind failed to pass the Virginia State Senate during the 2023 General Assembly.

Because of his decades-long track record for supporting mental health reform, gun violence prevention, abortion access, and more, Senator Deeds is the progressive choice in this race.
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