In a post last week, we posed this question: Should we Join the Fight and get financially involved in the Virginia elections in November? Specifically, we opened up a conversation about whether BJ peeps want to get involved right away or wait a big to see how things pan out before jumping in.
Fired Up! Virginia’s General Assembly Elections (reposted for daytime peeps)
It seems like we all agreed on two things: that the elections in Virginia are a big Joe Biden deal and that this is a huge opportunity going forward. A win in Virginia would reverberate beyond Virginia and could help set the state for good things 2024.
First, Virginia is the last Southern state to permit abortions up to 26 weeks, and it’s a safe haven for women throughout the South who can afford to travel. A Republican trifecta would end that in a heartbeat. (Pun intended.) Second, a Democratic win would continue our momentum of winning most special and off-year elections in advance of the 2024 cycle. And finally, losing the Virginia House of Delegates and failing to regain the Senate may take the wind out of the Presidential prospects of fleece-west wearing stealth MAGAt Governor Youngkin.
BJ peeps were split on whether to jump in right away (early voting has already started), or to keep our powder dry for a couple weeks and see if enough money floods in that would make our contributions salt in the ocean. With some research, we have identified two toss-up races that could use our help immediately, and at least two others are on our “watch list.”
We’re primarily targeting candidates in the Hampton Roads area (Norfolk, Virginia Beach). Why there?
According to a Virginia based Political Scientist:
Of the three largest metro areas in Virginia – the other two being the Northern Virginia suburbs adjoining Washington, D.C., and the state capital region that includes Richmond – Hampton Roads is the most competitive. (Soure: Bob Holsworth, a former Virginia Commonwealth University political scientist who’s now with the Richmond-based firm DecideSmart.)
So we now have two thermometers for House of Delegates candidates Michael Feggans in District 97 and Kimberly Pope Adams in District 82. Both are young African-Americans with strong ties to the Hampton Roads community. They are both first time candidates. Both the reconstituted 97th and 82nd districts have more Democrats post-redistricting, so it is winnable.
Both Michael Feggans and Kimberly Pope Adams are challenging white Republican incumbents who narrowly defeated two previous African-American Democratic incumbents in 2021. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, these campaigns are neck-and-neck in fundraising: Kimberley Pope Adams had $673,000 to her opponent’s $666,000 (interesting symbolic number for a right-winger). Michael Feggans is slightly ahead of his opponent with $889,000 vs $852,000. New quarterly fundraising numbers are due shortly, but they always take longer than we’d like, so we’re not going to wait.
These numbers are close enough, and the dollar amount – while significant for a state legislative race – are not so overwhelmingly high that our contributions would be meaningless. So this is right in the sweet spot for our efforts.
I made sure to check the box so that your contact information is NOT shared with the candidates unless you click the box to do so.
For more on Michael Feggans check out his website! He appears to have rattled the Republicans. The House Republican Campaign Committee put up a hit website entitled tooextremeforvirginia.com trashing his record. It comes up on the first page in most Michael Feggans google searches.
This is who Micahel Feggans is running against: h/t Cheryl from Maryland
To find out more about Kimberly Pope Adams, visit her website!
Their opponents, Kim Taylor (v. Pope Adams) and Karen Greenhalgh (v. Feggans) are not raging MAGAts (although Greenhalgh is out front on the 15-week abortion limit). This may make them harder to beat. But Dobbs, redistricting, the bizarre Republican attacks on the military, and the potential government shutdown in a district with a substantial military population should provide a helpful tailwind.
In the meantime, we’ll be watching two other African-American candidates in the Hampton Roads area for possible inclusion after the next round of fundraising numbers come in.
Ready to get started? Let me know if you have any questions.
Open thread.
