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State Senate

Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below State Senate races on your ballot.

No Good Choices

Incumbent Republican Senator William Stanley voted against Medicaid expansion and against raising the minimum wage in Virginia. He has consistently opposed access to reproductive healthcare, including voting to cut off abortion access for low income individuals and to defund Planned Parenthood. Senator Stanley voted against legislation to prohibit discrimination on the job based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

There is not much information on the policy positions of his opponent, Independent candidate Sherman Witcher, who failed to obtain the Democratic nomination. Witcher supports better funding for schools and pay for teachers. In 2007, he ran for Senate as an independent against Republican Robert Hurt. He received 24% of the vote. In 2009, he ran again against Del. Charles Poindexter, R-Franklin, and received 21% of the vote.

Based on the limited information available, Witcher is likely the more progressive choice but you always have the option to write in a candidate.

William Stanley

Incumbent Republican Senator William Stanley voted against Medicaid expansion and against raising the minimum wage in Virginia. He has consistently opposed access to reproductive healthcare, including voting to cut off abortion access for low income individuals and to defund Planned Parenthood.

  • Incumbent Senator John Edwards was elected to the state Senate in 1995. Edwards hails from Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from Princeton University in 1966 cum laude and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1970. Senator Edwards served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Captain from 1971 through 1973.

    Senator Edwards has supported numerous progressive issues including legislation to deny gun purchases to persons determined to be a danger to themselves or others. He is a strong ally in the fight for environmental protection, conservation, and preservation. He successfully sponsored Virginia’s first power purchase agreement (PPA) legislation in 2013. He also passed a bill to make it easier for localities to obtain solar energy services from third parties in 2017. Senator Edwards also sponsored a bill that would have reversed a law that allows natural gas pipeline companies to survey on private property without permission.

    His opponent is Independent Steven Nelson. Unfortunately, there is little public information about Nelson’s campaign platform. In 2015, he ran as an Independent in the 19th Senate district. In that race, he voiced strong support for continued reliance on polluting fossil fuels. He also criticized the Affordable Care Act and the AARP for their support for access to affordable health care. He describes himself as an “independent conservative.”

    Delegate Edwards is the progressive choice in this race.

    Last updated: 2023-04-05

    John S. Edwards

    Incumbent Senator John Edwards was elected to the state Senate in 1995. Edwards hails from Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from Princeton University in 1966 cum laude and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1970. Senator Edwards served on active duty in the U.S.

    Incumbent Senator John Edwards was elected to the state Senate in 1995. Edwards hails from Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from Princeton University in 1966 cum laude and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1970. Senator Edwards served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Captain from 1971 through 1973.

    Senator Edwards has supported numerous progressive issues including legislation to deny gun purchases to persons determined to be a danger to themselves or others. He is a strong ally in the fight for environmental protection, conservation, and preservation. He successfully sponsored Virginia’s first power purchase agreement (PPA) legislation in 2013. He also passed a bill to make it easier for localities to obtain solar energy services from third parties in 2017. Senator Edwards also sponsored a bill that would have reversed a law that allows natural gas pipeline companies to survey on private property without permission.

    His opponent is Independent Steven Nelson. Unfortunately, there is little public information about Nelson’s campaign platform. In 2015, he ran as an Independent in the 19th Senate district. In that race, he voiced strong support for continued reliance on polluting fossil fuels. He also criticized the Affordable Care Act and the AARP for their support for access to affordable health care. He describes himself as an “independent conservative.”

    Delegate Edwards is the progressive choice in this race.

    John S. Edwards

    Incumbent Senator John Edwards was elected to the state Senate in 1995. Edwards hails from Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from Princeton University in 1966 cum laude and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1970. Senator Edwards served on active duty in the U.S.

House of Delegates

Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below House of Delegate races on your ballot.

  • Virginia’s new 92nd House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Norfolk City and parts of Chesapeake City. With almost 55,000 registered voters, this district leans strongly Democratic.

    Incumbent Democratic Delegate Jeion Ward is a lifelong resident of the Hampton Roads area. She is a graduate of Thomas Nelson Community College and is currently an educator. Delegate Ward is very active in her community and was elected President of the Hampton Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 4260. She is also a member of the Executive Council of the Virginia AFL-CIO.

    Delegate Ward has coordinated both partisan and non-partisan "Get-Out-The-Vote" campaigns in targeted areas of Hampton and Newport News since 1997. In addition, she has organized voter registration drives and restoration of rights campaigns. She has proposed legislation that would make election day a school holiday. She also supports common sense gun violence prevention laws and protecting reproductive rights. She voted to expand Medicaid in Virginia to 400,000 low income Virginians.

    Delegate Ward is running unopposed and is the progressive choice in this race.

  • Virginia’s new 93rd House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Norfolk City. With over 56,000 registered voters, this district leans strongly Democratic.

    In Delegate Mike Mullin's (D) first year as a legislator, he passed four bills---more than any other freshman legislator in the House of Delegates that year. He is a private practice attorney and resident of Newport News. He is passionate about ending the school-to-prison pipeline and ensuring equal pay for equal work.

    Delegate Mullin was a strong supporter of expanding Medicaid in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is also committed to making sure we have an environment that protects our region’s natural beauty and encourages job creation.

    His conservative opponent, Heather Cordasco (R), has been consistently and proudly anti-choice. Her opposition to employer-provided contraception, abortion, and Planned Parenthood make her dangerous to the health of all Virginians if she is elected.

    Delegate Mullin is the more progressive choice in this race.

  • Virginia’s new 94th House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Norfolk City. With close to 42,000 registered voters, this district leans Democratic.

    Democratic candidate Shelly Simonds is an educator and longtime environmental activist. She has worked for years in the environmental advocacy space as a former member of the Legislative Contact Team with the League of Conservation Voters. She strongly supports raising the minimum wage. She also vows to prioritize defending healthcare access, reducing drug prices, and protrecting abortion access.

    Incumbent Republican Delegate David Yancey is not only anti-choice, but he also supported a bill that authorized individuals subject to a protective order to carry a concealed handgun, possibly putting domestic violence victims in danger.

    Independent Michael Bartley is an Aerospace Engineer, working for Eagle Technologies in Newport News. Bartley does not voice support of sensible gun violence prevention laws. He plans on pushing for personal use of all drugs to be decriminalized.

    Simonds is the more progressive choice in this race.

  • Virginia’s new 95th House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Virginia Beach City and parts of Norfolk City. With over 57,000 registered voters, this district leans Democratic.

    Democratic Delegate Marcia Price is the ultimate people’s champion based on her track record of leadership on progressive issues like gun violence prevention, reproductive rights, minority maternal health, and census outreach.

    Delegate Price was born and raised on the Peninsula. She graduated from Warwick High School in the Peninsula's first graduating class of the International Baccalaureate Program, receiving the full IB Diploma and Advanced Studies Diploma. She attended Spelman College and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, with intensive study in Biology. She also received her Master of Arts in Religious Studies from Howard University. Delegate Price has completed some coursework toward her Master of Divinity Degree at Howard University.

    In September 2016, Delegate Price worked to start the Virginia Black Leadership Organizing Collaborative (VA BLOC), a non-profit focused on "building empowered communities" through integrated voter engagement, civic involvement, and leadership development, where she serves as Director. As a fourth-generation resident of the Peninsula, she embraces her family's legacy of service and strives to make a positive impact in the Peninsula community that has given so much to her.Delegate Price has been a leader on many progressive issues including reproductive rights, race and equity, restoration of rights, and many more.

    Delegate Price is running unopposed and is the more progressive choice in this race.