Incumbent Democratic Delegate Kelly Fowler is of Filipino-Mexican heritage and moved to Virginia Beach when her father, who was in the Navy, was stationed there. An engaged member of the community, she used to be an elementary school teacher and now owns a small local real estate company that specializes in military family relocation and advocacy. She and her husband reside in Virginia Beach with their three daughters. Fowler was first elected to represent the 21st District in 2017 and will now run for HD 96 with the redrawn district lines.

Delegate Fowler was motivated to run for office after attending the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. in January 2017.. In 2020, she voted to repeal medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers by supporting the Reproductive Health Protection Act. She supports abortion access and voted to make abortion coverage available on the health insurance exchange.

During her time in office, Delegate Fowler voted to give teachers a 5% raise, believing higher teacher pay will reduce high turnover and make it easier for schools to recruit and retain the best teachers. She also voted to increase school funding in the Commonwealth, including money to help schools reopen safely during the pandemic. She also voted to grant in-state tuition to undocumented students in 2020 and make them eligible for financial aid the following year.

Delegate Fowler recognizes the real threat of climate change. She hopes to create long-term solutions to preserving the green spaces in the Virginia Beach and Chesapeake areas. Del. Fowler has patroned legislation aimed at tackling the flooding issues of the 21st District. Additionally, Del. Fowler is in support of clean energy and green jobs and voted for the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020, which aims to make Virginia 100% clean energy by 2050.

Delegate Fowler believes in making the promise of democracy real for us all by supporting our fair and free elections. In 2021, she voted for the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which prohibits discrimination at the polls. She also voted to keep voters safe during the pandemic by removing the signature requirement on absentee ballots during an emergency and establishing drop boxes for voters to leave their ballots. In 2020, she voted to extend the early voting period and to make it easier to vote absentee in Virginia.

Delegate Fowler’s main opponent is Republican Mike Karslake, a business owner affiliated with Business Networks International. He describes himself as politically conservative and has spent 20 years working within the Republican political network. He wants to give police additional funding with no accountability. He will allow gun violence to go unchecked in our communities, and his top priority is to “preserve our religious freedoms”--so long as they support “Judeo-Christian values”.

Independent candidate Nicholas Olenik is also in the running for the race, but we could not find a website or any listed positions at the time of research.

Due to her support of abortion access, public education, voting rights, and the environment, Delegate Fowler is the most progressive choice in this election. Close Window