Incumbent Democratic Delegate Jeion Ward has represented the 92nd District since 2004. A native of Hampton Roads, she attended Thomas Nelson Community College before graduating from Christopher Newport University. She became a teacher and is the president of the Hampton Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 4260. She is active in the Hampton Branch NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Hampton Democratic Committee. Due to redrawn district lines, she will now run for the 87th district.

Delegate Ward is a strong advocate for working families having previously served as chair of the House Labor and Commerce Committee. She successfully sponsored legislation to raise Virginia’s minimum wage in 2020. She fought the following year to remove a Jim Crow-era exemption that bars farmworkers from earning the minimum wage, but was unsuccessful. Del. Ward supports the right of workers to form unions and voted for legislation to allow municipal employees to collectively bargain. She also wants to repeal Virginia’s right-to-work law.

Delegate Ward voted in favor of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which will facilitate Virginia’s transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050. She also supported the creation of new emission standards for cars and requiring car manufacturers to produce a certain percentage of low- and zero-emission vehicles. She voted in favor of the creation of a rebate for individuals who purchase electric vehicles, incentivizing the use of efficient transportation. Additionally, she is working on expanding the state’s vehicle charging infrastructure.

As a middle school teacher, Del. Ward believes in the importance of a well-funded education system. She voted for 5% raises for teachers, which she sees as a critical step for addressing the teacher shortage in Hampton and statewide. She supports increasing funding to allow for smaller class sizes, particularly for younger students who benefit from more teacher-student interaction. She also voted for additional funding for schools so they could reopen safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Del. Ward wants to keep communities safe with common sense measures to prevent gun violence. She was chief patron of a successful bill to establish a one-handgun-per-month purchase limit. She also supported universal background checks and the right of localities to regulate the possession of firearms, along with other gun violence prevention legislation passed in 2020. In the most recent session, she voted no on HB 509, which would repeal the extreme risk protection order law, voted no on HB 11. which would reduce penalties for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and voted yes on HB 1909, which establishes gun-free zones on school board property.

Delegate Ward’s opponent is John Chapman, a Newport News native. Chapman’s priorities are vague, but speak to conservative talking points. His issues page lists a Ronald Reagan quote and little else.

Due to her support of working families, the environment, gun violence prevention, and public education, Delegate Jeion Ward is the most progressive choice in this race for the 87th District.
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