Senate District 033

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Dan Helmer was first elected in 2019. The son of an immigrant and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, Helmer graduated from West Point Military Academy in 2003. He is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he was also deployed to South Korea. Currently a member of the Army Reserve, Helmer runs a small business where he helps veterans access healthcare. Del. Helmer lives in Fairfax County with his wife and two sons.

As the husband of a public school teacher, Delegate Helmer wants to increase funding for Virginia’s education system. He supports raising teacher salaries to prevent turnover, reducing classroom size, allocating more resources to our educators and students to better set them up for success. In 2021, he voted for providing additional resources to students and parents in kindergarten through third grade who are struggling with reading. He also supported giving additional funding to Virginia schools so that they can reopen safely during the pandemic.

Delegate Helmer believes that climate change is the greatest threat that Virginians are facing and wants to guarantee access to clean water and air. He understands that Virginians need to reduce their carbon footprint and find more sustainable energy sources. He believes that part of doing this involves an immediate stop to the construction of new pipelines and fracking. Del. Helmer was a chief co-patron of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which commits Virginia to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Del. Helmer is an advocate for reproductive rights and believes that Virginians should have access to abortion when they need it. The delegate has supported legislation that would provide access to reproductive healthcare that includes cancer screenings, birth control, and safe and legal abortions. In 2020, he voted to repeal medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion care providers. He also supported making abortion coverage available on the state health insurance exchange in 2021.

Del. Helmer supports making the promise of democracy real for us all by ensuring that our elections are free and accessible. He voted for same-day voter registration and making absentee voting easier by providing for prepaid postage on ballots, eliminating the need for a witness signature, and establishing no-excuse absentee voting in the Commonwealth. Del. Helmer also supported extending early voting and the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which prohibits voter discrimination at the polls.

Delegate Helmer is being challenged by Republican candidate James Thomas. Thomas graduated from the University of Dayton in Ohio and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Thomas would rather untrained parents be in charge of the curriculum for our schools rather than education and curriculum experts. He also champions increasing funding for law enforcement and public safety despite the ever growing evidence that shows law enforcement’s inability to keep communities of color safe.

Considering his support of public education, abortion access, the environment and voting access, Delegate Dan Helmer is the most progressive choice in this race.

Laura Jane Cohen is a dedicated advocate with a diverse background, from working for disease prevention organizations to owning a small business. As a substitute teacher and PTA president, she actively supported her local community. Cohen’s's passion for gun violence preventionled her to volunteer with Moms Demand Action. On the School Board, she fought for education, inclusivity, teacher pay, and more. As a Delegate, Cohen will protect public schools, defend abortion access, prevent gun violence, and preserve Virginia values.

Cohen's commitment to preventing gun violence and advocating for gun safety measures is evident through her extensive work with Moms Demand Action. As a Delegate, she will prioritize strengthening secure storage and extreme risk protection laws, disarming domestic abusers, implementing microstamping and childproofing for new handguns, and banning high-capacity magazines, untraceable "ghost guns," and assault-style weapons. Her dedication to public safety and common-sense gun laws will make our communities safer for everyone.

Cohen's commitment to addressing the climate crisis and promoting clean energy solutions is commendable. As a Delegate, she will work to accelerate Virginia's transition to 100% carbon-free electricity, advocate for the adoption of electric alternatives for transit and school buses, prioritize communities impacted by environmental injustice, implement energy-saving measures, and invest in green workforce development. Her efforts will contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future for Virginia.

Cohen's is also dedicated toadvocating for the rights and protections of LGBTQIA+ Virginians. As a Delegate, she will strive to repeal the ban on same-sex marriages from Virginia's constitution, advocate for comprehensive LGBTQIA+ protections in schools, and support policies that affirm gender identity and provide insurance coverage for necessary healthcare. Cohen’s commitment to equality and inclusivity will help create a more just and equitable Virginia for all residents.

Cohen is running against Republican Marcus Evans. Evans is a U.S. Army veteran, with experience as a defense contractor. He holds degrees from The Ohio State University, University of Maryland University College, and U.S.A.F. Air Command and Staff College. Evans does not believe in the ability of our teachers and education professionals to give our children a quality education. He also holds transphobic views on “gender affirming care” which is an added threat to the current attacks against reproductive justice.

Laura Jane Cohen’s commitment to climate action, gun violence prevention, and advocacy for equality for all make her the progressive choice in this race.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Candi King obtained her bachelor’s degree in political science from Norfolk State University, where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Outside of the General Assembly, she works in the non-profit sector, making the educational system more accessible and equitable to special needs children. King and her husband, Josh King, reside in Dumfries with their three children, including a non-verbal autistic teenage daughter.

Delegate King was elected in January 2021 after a special election to replace former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy. During her first legislative session, Delegate King supported legislation that would allow essential workers to be eligible for worker’s compensation if diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus. This same legislation would also require hazard pay and personal protective equipment to essential workers during the pandemic. She supported legislation to prevent maternal mortality by establishing a task force to collect data on maternal health outcomes.

Delegate King co-patroned the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back, “G3,” Program bill that grants free tuition at community colleges for low- and middle-income Virginians who study in certain fields. She voted for a 5% pay raise for Virginia teachers, hoping to retain quality educators and prevent high turnover and approved of funding to help schools reopen safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also sponsored legislation to require the state department of education to update its special education and related services to better accommodate students with disabilities.

Working to make the promise of democracy real for us all, she co-patroned The Voting Rights Act of Virginia. This bill expands on the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, and prohibits discrimination at the polls. King voted for measures that make voting easier like removing some requirements on absentee and curbside voting and the requirement of a witness signature on absentee ballots in the time of an emergency. She also supported the establishment of drop box locations for voters to return their absentee ballots .

Delegate King focuses on combating the problem by introducing a bill that would give more rights to victims of sex trafficking and requires the state to identify and better respond to crimes involving sex trafficking. In addition to this, she supported legislation that would allow victims of sex trafficking to have their records expunged as they work to rebuild their lives.

Del. King’s opponent is Republican candidate James Tully who earned his bachelors degree at George Mason University. Tully is also a Marine Corp veteran and former Deputy Sheriff. Tully supports more funding for law enforcement despite their implicit excessive force, racial discrimination, and violence towards Black people and communities of color. Tully has no plan for to combat the growing threats to reproductive justice nor does he have plans to initiate environmental justice policies to ensure a safer Commonwealth.


Due to her support of public education, voting rights, and workers’ rights, Del. Candi King is the most progressive choice for the House of Delegates 2nd District.

A Prince William County native, Incumbent Democratic Delegate Briana Sewell was raised by parents who were each United States Air Force members for over 20 years. She attended Prince William County Public Schools, and then received her bachelor’s degree in public policy from the College of William and Mary and a Master of Public Administration from American University. She has since worked providing constituent services for Congressman Gerry Connolly. She also helped found the Virginia Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, which advocates for paid family and medical leave for working families. During her time as Delegate she has patroned bills to support the improvement of education for students as well as protections for teacher licensure. She has also made efforts to reduce gun violence in the Commonwealth by co-patroning bills to conduct a study on the effect of gun violence in the community.

Due to her experience advocating for paid family and medical leave, Delegate Sewell supports policies that uplift Virginia’s families and economy. She worked to ensure federal employees receive 12 weeks of paid medical and family leave and other workers have access to sufficient leave and benefits. She also knows a well-funded education system is crucial to a strong economy. She will work to ensure school resources are equally distributed and every student has access to well-funded, quality education. She supports policies to lower the cost of college and fund other job training and vocational programs.

Delegate Sewell particularly understands how women play a critical role in the economy. A strong advocate for fair pay and anti-discrimination laws in the workplace, she will work to lower the cost of childcare to ensure parents can afford to stay in the workforce. She will also advocate for childcare providers, who are often women and women of color. She knows that economic and reproductive rights are inherently tied together and will fight for people to have access to abortion, so people can choose when and whether to become parents.

Delegate Sewell knows that paid family and medical leave must also go hand-in-hand with affordable and accessible healthcare coverage and chief co-patroned HB2035, a bill to establish the paid medical leave program. She supports efforts to regulate prescription drug companies and reduce prescription costs. The pandemic has further revealed racial and socioeconomic biases in healthcare coverage, and Del. Sewell will work to ensure there are no barriers to necessary healthcare.

Delegate Sewell has advocated for the environment her entire career. While working in Congressman Connolly’s office, she tried to reduce pollutants in the district by shutting down the coal ash pond nearby. She chief patroned HJ545, a bill requiring the Dept. of Energy to list the barriers that prevent local governments from directly buying clean energy. She believes that investing in green infrastructure will create high-paying jobs in the Commonwealth and will ensure that every citizen has access to clean water and air. She will work to fund green public transit options to limit emissions and traffic congestion.

Sewell is running against Republican John S Gray. Information on Gray’s politics was unavailable, but his string of extremely problematic tweets gives some clue as to where his politics lie. Among the tweets he paid to be deleted are racist statements made in regards to Black people and the BLM protests, as well as hateful speech towards other religious practices. He has expressed no regret for his statements.

Due to her advocacy for Virginia working families, women’s rights, affordable healthcare, and the environment, Delegate Briana Sewell is the most progressive choice for Virginia’s 51st District.