Some Virginia Republicans are facing off against familiar opponents this year

[RandySF]

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.



https://www.wvtf.org/news/2025-07-23/some-virginia-republicans-are-facing-off-against-familiar-opponents-this-year

[Best_man23]

1. "But he says the dynamics are very different this year compared to the last time he ran in 2021"

Yeah, they're different. In 2021, a Convicted Felon hadn't laid off tens of thousands of federal workers in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton Roads, and the counties that collar Washington DC. You can best believe many of those former federal workers haven't forgotten which party tossed them out of their jobs.

We are less than four months out from election day here, and you have to really look around to find a Winsome Sears sign. In contrast, when we drove downstate three weeks ago (in what would be considered "red Virginia&quot , we saw several large "Farmers for Spanburger" signs, done in the same green background color and font as the "Farmers for Convicted Felon" signs last year. I 'm thinking some of the non-MAGA Rs in the areas really hit by the federal job cuts may cross over and vote blue, or just simply stay home.