Len’s. Political Note #751 Virginia State Delegates

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September 8^th                          Len’s Political Note #751 Virginia State Delegates

2025                                             General Election

 

Virginia’s state legislature is very closely divided.  The State Senate, which is not up for election except for specials that may arise, until 2027 has a Democratic majority:  21-19.  The House of Delegates, which is up for election in 2025 and every two years also has a Democratic majority:  51-48 with a single vacancy.

Virginia, in the November, 2025 election will be choosing a Governor, a Lt. Governor, and an Attorney General, as well as electing a House of Delegates.  If we want the United States to be moving in a positive direction, electing Democrats at the state level is a great way to do that.

On February 28 of this year, I wrote about three candidates for Delegate whose previous loss was narrow enough so that I thought, with your help, they could win in 2025.

            Lilly Franklin                                     VAHD41        DONATE

                        She lost to the incumbent by 183 votes in 2023.  The incumbent Republican is an attorney from Blacksburg.  Lily Franklin is a former math teacher and Delegate staff chief who describes her family as having lived in southwestern Virginia for generations.

            Jessica Anderson                           VAHD71        DONATE

                        She lost to the incumbent by 664 votes in 2023.  The incumbent Republican is a former legislative aide and fundraiser.  Jessica Anderson is a former dental technician and current community advocate who relies in part on what she learned from her difficult divorce.

            Kimberly Pope Adams                    VAHD82        DONATE

                        She lost to the incumbent by 78 votes in 2023.  The incumbent Republican worked in sales and co-owns auto repair shops with her husband.  Kimberly Pope Adams,an African American,  is the former Assistant Director for Financial Compliance and Operations at Virginia State University.

Learn more about these candidates:  See Len’s Political Note #709.

The organization 31^st Street Swing Left lists more candidates to support to create a more solid Democratic majority in the Virginia House of Delegates.

            Andrew Payton       VAHD34 – on the west side of Northern Virginia — NOVA DONATE

Andrew Payton grew up in Landover, Maryland.  Both parents were federal government employees.  He studied film and electronic media at Towson University and earned an MFA from Iowa State in creative writing and environment.  He turned this academic experience into a distinctive profession.

Beginning as an intern at the Voice of America and an assistant tech director at the Folger Library, he had titles such as Educational Content Director, Course Developer/Producer, Senior learning Director, and Senior Manager, Learning Design for a company called LearningDesign.  He has become a master at transforming once dry college and university courses into Artificial Intelligence designed multi-media events working with institutions such as the University of Arizona, NYU, Pepperdine, and the University of North Carolina.  He has been doing this work most recently for an organization called LearningMate.

His campaign website is not flashy.  He is clear and simple.  He makes his point.  You know what he wants to do:  “Together, we can defend our constitutional freedoms; support our teachers, farmers, veterans, and seniors; make housing and healthcare affordable; raise the minimum wage; and protect our natural environment!”

And you know how he thinks about the work:

“When Andrew goes to Richmond, he will not go alone. Elected officials should represent the needs, dreams, and struggles of their constituents, and Andrew intends to do that. We need to hear from you.

Let’s defend our neighbors, our families, our freedoms, and our land from the exploitation of big business and authoritarian leaders and those elected leaders willing to enable them.

Help us send someone to Richmond who will advocate for the many, not the few.”

He identifies four issues:  Make Healthcare affordable.  Make Housing Affordable and Raise wages. Strengthen Virginia’s Public Schools.  Protect the Environment.

In 2021, the Republican incumbent, Tony Wilt won by 2,642 votes.  Wilt returned to college as an adult and this year earned a BA from Cornerstone Bible college in applied ministry.  He had been part of his dad’s concrete business and is now retired from his time as the company’s president and general manager.

In his campaign website, Wilt suggests that the best way to ease the burden of the high cost of rent, electricity, and groceries is to reduce taxes.  He argues that the best way to lure business and jobs to Virginia is to keep that state’s taxes low.  Except for his criticisms of “divisive rhetoric and victim-centered ideologies” in classrooms (reminiscent of Trump’s request we look for the good things about slavery) his call for more mental health services in schools and for financial support for those seeking “high-demand” non-university credentials are positive steps.

Completing his top four policy areas, he begins his support for agriculture in Virginia by focusing on “agritourism.”  His support for conservation of natural resources through “voluntary, cooperative efforts” does not seem like support for conservation at all.

Virginia would be well served if Tony Witt were replaced by Andrew Payton.   Virginia House District 34 has, according to Wikipedia, a 7.7. point Republican lean.  That is reachable at a time when Democrats, in special elections, are overperforming the 20924 Democratic presidential ticket by more than 15 points.  DONATE to the Andrew Payton campaign.

May Nivar     VAHD57 – Parts of Charlottesville  and beyond       DONATE

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, May Nivar grew up in Philadelphia, helping her parents with their small takeout Chinese restaurant.  Admitted to the University of Virginia, she worked in a local supermarket, borrowed money, and was awarded scholarships all of which helped her make her way to her BA.  She married Carlos Nivar and went to work in corporate America.

She worked for Philip Morris for 12 years, advancing from administrative assistant to managing online communication.  She moved on to work for Philip Morris’s parent company, Altria, which describes itself as “one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses caused by tobacco”. She managed corporate events, then regulatory communications, eventually serving as the corporate leader for diversity and corporate citizenship for this firm located in Richmond.

After 30 years of increasing responsibility in the corporate world, she decided she would become a politician, and would run for the Virginia House of Delegates, for this D+9 district that elected a Republican Delegate.  Virginians, she says, face “economic inequality, inadequate healthcare, underfunded schools, unaffordable housing, and the erosion of hard-won reproductive and civil rights” as the Republican administration led by Glenn Youngkin comes to an end.

She dies advicate cutting costs by reducing red tape and taxes.  She adds plans for raising wages and investing in career and technical education; raising the pay for teachers and fully funding K-12 education.  Her third priority is protecting everyone’s access to health care, especially women’s health so that women can make their own personal health decisions.

With the election of May Nivar, Virginians would replace David Owen, a former construction engineer for Texaco and one term Delegate whose idea of supporting choice for women is to limit that choice to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, who begins is his anti-crime message by denouncing those who would defund and demonize the police, who begins his comments about strengthening the economy by denouncing wasteful public spending,  and who also wants to relieve small businesses of regulatory requirements.

DONATE to May Nivar’s campaign for this seat that ought to be Democratic.

            Leslie Chambers Mehta   VAHD73 – Southwest of Richmond      DONATE

Discussing her 2017 decision, as the Legal Director of the ACLU of Virginia, to provide legal support to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Leslie Chambers Mehta said:  “I’m a Black woman who was raised in the South. I understand the implications of all this, And certainly it tests your belief in the principles aligned with the First Amendment when you’re representing people whom not only do you disagree with, but you find reprehensible. That is what leaders do. Leaders take on hard cases.”

Furthermore, the Unite the Right rally turned out badly.  One of the members of Unite the Right drove into a crowd of protesters, killing one of them.  Absent a crystal ball prediction of the future, she says she would have made the same decision — to defend the right to free speech.

Leslie Chambers Mehta grew up in a small town in North Carolina.  She escaped by way of the residential North Carolina High School of Science and Mathematics – one of the great public schools in the United States.  From there, she went to the University of North Carolina and then to Howard University’s Law School.

After her stint as legal director for Virginia’s ACLU, Leslie Chambers Mehta was a staff member of the Individual and Family Support Program while also serving as a Commissioner of Virginia’s Commission to Examine Inequality in Virginia Law.  From 2016 to 2024, she served as Chief of Staff and legal advisor to the CEO of Richmond’s Metropolitan Transport Company.  In 2024, she lost a race for Congress in the primary.

Now she is running to defeat Mark Early Jr. in a district which is D+1 — a toss up.  The son of a state senator and state attorney general and first term Delegate, Early’s home page lists his priorities – cutting taxes in order to fight inflation, protecting girls and women’s sports, prioritizing public safety, and empowering parents.

Leslie Chambers Mehta would be a substantial improvement over this young man.  DONATE to the Leslie Chambers Mehta Campaign. 

Lindsey Dougherty            VAHD75 – South of Richmond   DONATE

Before she decided to run for Delegate in 2025, Lindsey Dougherty said in her “about section” of Linked in:  “My goal is to work with an organization that allows for new challenges, provides new learning concepts, and also pushes me to make a positive difference in my community. I am an effective collaborator, resourceful, with excellent organizational and time management skills; which translates into a highly effective employee that will go above and beyond in all sectors”. She describes what you would want from a hard-working state legislator.

LIndsey Dougherty grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and got her BA from the University of Tennessee.  She and her husband moved on to North Carolina State for Master’s Degrees, hers in Public Administration.  Together, they moved to the area south of Richmond.  Virginia looked like a land of opportunity.

While getting her MPA, Lindsey Dougherty coordinated community services for youth in the Raleigh area court systems and subsequently coordinated administrative and program services for the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation.  In Virginia, she was a budget analyst for Chesterfield County and for the last four years plus has been the coordinator for research for Virginia Commonwealth University.

A persistent activist and board member for local non-profits, Lindsey Dougherty tried politics once before.  In 2019, prior to redistricting, she lost to the incumbent Carrie Coyner.

Now the district, listed as D+6.6, has a Democratic lean.  It will not be easy for Coyner to hold on.  An attorney, she has some appeal to some Democrats. She was one of only three Republicans to vote to abolish Virginia’s death penalty.  She was one of only six Republicans who voted with Democrats to safeguard same sex marriage.

She has, however, been in the House of Delegates long enough to have accumulated votes that would offend many independents and Democrats.  She opposed a public referendum on a constitutional amendment to protect women’s reproductive rights; she has opposed various gun safety measures and she opposed creating a prescription drug affordability board.

Instead of supporting reproductive rights, she seeks a different way to be a candidate with women’s issues in mind.  She has succeeded in funding a recovery high school for youthful addicts. She proposes making it safer to report sexual violence and proposes financial support for military spouses to get Virginia credentials when they have out of state credentials.

Support Lindsey Dougherty.  She is right on the big issues.  DONATE to her campaign.  

Virgil Thornton       VAHD86 — Hampton          DONATE

Entrepreneur and community leader, Virgil Thornton explains you do not have to go to college.  He did not. He was trained as a shipbuilder through an apprentice program and served in the navy for 20 years as a submarine electrical nuclear test technician. Out of the navy, first he tried cars.  After training, he managed the Huntsville Auto Multiplex, then sold luxury cars.  He still does.  In addition, though, with his wife Michelle Boone-Thornton, he created CMV Communicators, which provides executive coaching and inspirational speakers.

Now he is trying politics, running for Delegate from a D+1.6 district with a Republican incumbent.  This is a toss up district which Virgil Thornton could flip. He touts three priorities:  Funding public education well enough so that every child thrives; ensuring that everyone, including women seeking reproductive care, has access to the medical care they want and need; and creating prosperity by empowering entrepreneurs, large and small, and ensuring the existing of jobs that pay a living wage.

He is a contrast to the two-term incumbent, Aijalon Cordoza.  Like Virgil Thornton, Cordoza is a Black man.  Like his challenger, he was in the military, though only for three years.  Technologically trained through a community college, he became a cybersecurity professional.  In 2008, he developed an interest in politics.  Excited at the prospect of a Black president, he supported Barack Obama for President.  Gradually, though, he realized his views were more that of a Republican.

Aijalon Cordoza became vice-chair of the Hampton Republican Party, lost an election for city council, but he defeated a one-term Democratic incumbent Delegate by 64 votes.

Running for reelection, Cordoza lists healthcare as his first priority. He specifies the importance protecting firefighters who develop cancer as a result of contact with toxic materials.  He does not mention his opposition to allowing a vote on a constitutional amendment that would protect women’s right to reproductive health care.  His second priority is providing mental health care to veterans in addition to the support they now get in housing, career development, and education.  His third priority is protecting gun rights.  Under the guise of protecting hunting, outdoor shooting, and the ability to protect oneself, he has opposed several gun safety bills – opposition he does not mention on his website.

Virgil Thornton would be a great replacement to AC Cordoza.  DONATE to Virgil Thornton’s campaign.

Karen (Kacey) Robins Carnegie    VAHD89 – Southeast corner of VA    DONATE

Born and raised in Deep Creek, Virginia, an unincorporated “town” which is part of the city of Chesapeake and situated in the southeastern corner of the state.  After graduating from Deep Creek High School, Kacey Carnegie got a BA from Longwood University (nee Farmville Female Seminary) and a JD from the University of Richmond’s Law School.

Take a look at Kasey Carnegie’s firm.  Every employee is a woman. Kacey Carnegie does not make a deal of her running an all-woman law firm.  Furthermore, it is perfectly reasonable to understand the make-up of the firm as a product of who was available for what the Carnegie Law Group was paying.  Her website photo of her family is more diverse: Kasey Carnegie, her two daughters, and her husband.

Kacey Carnegie, born and raised in Deep Creek, to which she returned as an adult, does not emphasize Deep Creek’s history as a stop on the underground railroad. Her website picture of her in the community is striking.  She stands with an Asian-American man, and six African Americans.

Kacey Carnegie’s website describes her goals:

“She is focused on creating a family-friendly economy and improving access to childcare; she is committed to making communities safer by ensuring proper training for first responders and supporting common-sense gun laws; and with her daughters in local public schools, she is invested in a safe, nurturing environment for all students.

Dedicated to bipartisan solutions, Kacey wants to represent the diverse voices in our community and address the needs and concerns of all residents.”

Her priorities for achieving those goals?

Building a Community-first Economy by raising the minimum wage, providing tax credits to small businesses, and increasing access to health care, childcare, and affordable housing.

Ensuring Safer Communities through proper training and appropriate resources for first responders.  Gun safety laws intended to end “the epidemic of gun violence.”

Investing in Education for Every Child to ensure that every child has a world class education.

Virginia’s 89^th House of Delegates district is described as D+3, Consider the district as having a tilt toward Democrats.  Nevertheless, the incumbent, Baxter Ennis, is a Republican.  Retired from the army as a Lt. Colonel, he directed the public relations for the 82^nd Airborne Division.  After retirement, he worked for Regent University as Executive Director of Advancement and University Events – a job he describes as public relations.  He also published a book in retirement: “When Leadership Mattered: Inspiring Stories of 12 People Who Changed the World.”

Ennis does not have an Issues or Priorities section of his campaign website, but says the following about the policies he supports and opposes: “I will work to cut the gas tax and eliminate the regressive Grocery tax.  I will oppose Green New Deal policies that increase our bills and hurt working families.  I will also stand up for our values, by supporting common-sense pro-life legislation and supporting our constitutional rights.”

Kacey Carnegie is a clear alternative to Baxter Ennis’s opposition to the reproductive freedom for women and, for that matter, to his opposition to addressing the climate crisis.  DONATE to Kacey Carnegie’s campaign.

 

 

State legislatures are the bedrock for creating effective political parties.  Help create a substantial majority in the Virginia House of Delegates by supporting these candidates.  We have already seen Catelin Dray flip a Republican Iowa State Senate seat by 10 points to end Iowa’s Republican Supermajority in the State Senate.  We will have a special election in Michigan in February, 2026 to fill a vacancy in a State Senate currently divided 19 Democrats and 18 Republicans.  You will hear more about the candidates for that seat later.  Meanwhile keep on volunteering, writing postcards, and donating money.