All 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates are on the ballot this year. That includes some Republican candidates facing off against familiar Democratic opponents.
Former Delegate Tim Anderson is a name that's very familiar in the Virginia Beach district where he's challenging incumbent Democrat Michael Feggans. That's because Anderson previously represented a different district before redistricting, and now he's hoping to make a comeback by campaigning on economic issues like getting rid of the car tax. But he says the dynamics are very different this year compared to the last time he ran in 2021 when Glenn Youngkin was leading the ticket.
"Unfortunately, we don't have that same style with Winsome Sears. There's not a singing from the same sheet of music theme with Winsome Sears that we had with Glenn Youngkin," Anderson says. "So, it is a little bit more difficult for the down ballot candidates this year."
In Blacksburg and Roanoke, incumbent Republican Delegate Chris Obenshain is facing the same opponent he had in the last election cycle, Democrat Lily Franklin. He says the big difference this year is energy policy, specifically the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which Obenshain says he wants to repeal.
"The things that were included in that, the timelines, they're totally unrealistic," Obenshain says. "And now, you have a lot of folks who supported that legislation saying, 'Well, these were aspirational, and we didn't really expect that it was going to happen.' But that's really not a way to legislate."
Obenshain is one of four Republican incumbents who will be facing the same Democratic challengers as the last election cycle.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
