Senate District 024

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Shelly Simonds is an activist and educator who has represented the 94th District since 2019. She attended Bucknell University to earn her undergraduate degree and Stanford University to earn her master’s degree in communications. After college she settled down in Newport News with her husband to raise her two daughters. She became a Spanish teacher at her daughters’ elementary school and was elected to the Newport News School Board in 2012.

Delegate Simonds has been an advocate for the environment by supporting multiple bills that have been important for addressing climate change and protecting the state’s natural resources. She was a patron of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which will transition Virginia’s power grid to rely on 100% renewable energy by 2050. She also supported the creation of a major offshore wind energy facility and a rebate for individuals who purchase or drive low-emission vehicles. She supports increased funding for land conservation as well as community parks and green spaces. She opposes fracking and uranium mining.

Delegate Simonds has also worked to ensure women are able to receive equal treatment in the workplace. She supported the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Additionally, she’s worked to expand child care programs, knowing how access and affordability are critical to letting parents participate in the labor force. She served as a patron of a bill that greatly expanded subsidies for childcare. She also supported the passage of the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, which added critical worker protections to a previously overlooked workforce comprising primarily women of color.

As a former teacher, Delegate Simonds has worked to ensure that Virginia’s schools are well-funded and equitable. She voted in favor of raises for teachers, which will help address the state’s shortage of teachers and help the state retain and recruit high-quality educators. Del. Simonds also supports actions to address the achievement gap in her district. As a member of the Virginia School Board Association’s Challenged Schools Taskforce, Simonds helped secure $2,000,000 of funding for low-income students to attend educational support programs.

Delegate Simonds has also expanded access to affordable healthcare. She supported a successful bill to end surprise medical billing so that insurance companies have to be transparent about what a patient will be charged. Simonds also worked to decrease prescription drug prices, voting to implement a $50 monthly price cap on insulin. She expanded access to critical reproductive healthcare, voting to require insurance companies to cover abortions.

Delegate Simonds has two opponents in this race: Libertarian Michael Bartley and Republican Matt Waters. Bartley does not have a website or social media and we could find no policy positions at the time of research. Waters would do nothing to prevent gun violence and actively work to repeal what little protections are already written into law. He aligns himself with Republican attacks on public education.

Due to her support of the environment, public education, working families, and access to affordable healthcare, Delegate Shelly Simonds is the most progressive choice in this race.

Jessica Anderson is an everyday person who advocates for her community. She is a lifelong Virginian, a mother of three daughters, and a stepmother to a son and daughter. She attained her Associate's Degree in Business Administration while pregnant with her second born. She worked full-time with a local family dental practice for over 7 years before opting to be a stay-at-home mom for 2 years. She found herself struggling to provide health insurance for her young daughters and unable to meet financial needs for daily necessities while going through a difficult divorce. This moment showed her just how important and lifesaving social safety nets are to families.
Anderson is a firm believer in abortion access and will fight to ensure it is protected in Virginia. She recognizes the importance of access to healthcare for her four daughters and opposes burdensome laws on healthcare professionals that put people in danger. She believes that legislators have no business in doctor's offices, making personal decisions and putting healthcare providers at legal risk simply for providing care. She opposes further arbitrary laws that are nothing more than political grandstanding and serve no purpose than to control this deeply personal decision. She supports the long-standing law in Virginia that demands healthcare providers respond quickly and ethically if a pregnancy is terminated in the 3rd trimester and to make every attempt and give any and all medical care required to ensure the child lives and thrives.

Anderson believes that public education is crucial to the Commonwealth of Virginia and especially District 71. She opposes policies like "No Child Left Behind" and standardized testing that have dismantled public education both financially and structurally. She believes these policies have resulted in curricula that are far less engaging, focused on teaching to test, and push students through the system who have missed out on much-needed resources. She opposes policies like taking public school funding and putting it into private schools and book banning that are causing further harm to educators, students, and families. She will always stand for parental rights and advocate for meaningful dialogue between educators and families to reach the best compromise for all parties.

Anderson will advocate for workers in Virginia to get access to basic benefits that others take for granted. She supports paid family and medical leave. She also supports earned sick time, which would provide every worker in Virginia with a minimum of 40 hours of earned sick time every year. She believes that families across Virginia need increased access to quality, affordable childcare programs. She also believes that living and aging at home should be a viable option for any Virginian who wishes to do so and wants to ensure that Virginia has the infrastructure and workforce in place to meet the growing demand for in-home nurses and care staff.

Anderson will fight for responsible gun ownership. She supports implementing universal background checks. She also believes that guns should always be stored in a secure manner, locked and unloaded, particularly in households where children are present. She supports investing in community-based violence prevention programs to help address the root causes of gun violence. She believes that extreme risk protection laws are critical in saving lives and preventing gun violence. She is committed to voting on and advocating for common sense, responsible gun safety legislation that aims to keep kids and communities safe.

Anderson is running against Incumbent Delegate Amanda Batten (R). Batten voted against the Virginia Voting Rights Act, the Virginia Clean Economy Act, and the legalization of marijuana. She also opposed abolishing the death penalty in Virginia and raising the minimum wage.

Because of her positions on gun control, public education, and healthcare, Anderson is the clear progressive choice in this race.