Virginia's List Announces 26 Endorsements for House of Delegates, 7 for the Senate

Virginia’s List is pleased to announce its first round of 2019 endorsements, naming 22 progressive Democratic women candidates running for the Virginia House of Delegates and 7 for the Senate.

The current House of Delegates is barely held by the Republican party, with 51 seats to the Democrats’ 49. While we are thrilled that Eileen Filler-Corn has taken the position of Minority Leader, we are all too aware that only 27 of the 100 seats in the House are filled by women. Of these women, 22 are Democrats. Our mission is to see this number rise, filling seats with pro-choice, Democratic women, seeking (at minimum) parity in the chamber.

The current Senate is similarly composed, with 20 Republicans, 19 Democrats and 1 vacancy. Of these 40, only 10 seats are held by women, 7 of them Democrats.

2017 saw historical gains by the Democratic party in the Virginia General Assembly, largely lead by women (15 seats taken in the House, 11 by women). This year, 2019, we aim to tip the scales and overtake both the House and the Senate, flipping those seats with women.

To that end, Virginia’s List is making our first round of endorsements, focusing on the upcoming primary election. We are pleased to support the following candidates currently in primary races for the Virginia House of Delegates:

Cathy Copeland (District 26), Kaye Kory (District 38), Lindsay Dougherty (District 62), Johanna Gusman (District 87), and Rebecca Leser (District 96).

In the Virginia Senate, we are pleased to endorse the following candidates in primary races:

Amanda Pohl (District 11), Rosalyn Dance (District 16), Amy Laufer (District 17), and Jennifer Boysko (District 33).

We also applaud the women who have stepped up to challenge sitting Republicans in both the House and Senate, and lend our endorsement to:

Missy Cotter Smasal (Senate District 8), Jennifer Woofter (House District 22), Jenni Kitchen (House District 25), Mavis Taintor (House District 33), Sheila Bynum Coleman (House District 66), Nancy Guy (House District 83), Karen Mallard (House District 84), and Shelly Simonds (House District 94).

We would not be where we are today without the women who are currently representing us in the House and Senate. In our first round of endorsements, we are proud to stand behind these 2 Senators and 14 Delegates, all incumbents:

Jennifer McClellan (Senate District 9) and Janet Howell (Senate District 32)

Jennifer Carroll Foy (House District 2), Wendy Gooditis (House District 10), Danica Roem (House District 13), Kelly Fowler (House District 21), Elizabeth Guzman (House District 31), Kathy Tran (House District 42), Hala Ayala (House District 51), Karrie Delaney (House District 67), Dawn Adams (House District 68), Vivian Watts (House District 39), Eileen Filler-Corn (House District 41), Charniele Herring (House District 46), Betsy Carr (House District 69), and Cia Price (House District 95).

Women represent only 26 percent of the members of the General Assembly; this year, we will increase this number. Like 2017, a record number of women are running this Fall. To win, they need our support. This year poses a heightened sense of urgency to make gains in the General Assembly; with Republican attacks on a woman’s right to choose through forced birth bills in Alabama, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Utah and Iowa, with more to come, our mission takes on even more meaning.

We’re taking the critical step of investing in these women now before the primary,” said Virginia’s List Chair Julie Jakopic. “For those with primary challenges, we hope early support will help them win and move on to the general election. For all the women we have endorsed, we hope our early support will help set them up for success in the general election.”

This is our first round of endorsements, and we look forward to endorsing additional candidates for the general election.

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Find out more about Virginia’s List here: VirginiasList.com.

For more information, contact:

Julie Jakopic

Phone: 703-201-6004

Email: Chair@virginiaslist.com