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Virginia’s new 17th State Senate district encompasses Suffolk City, Isle of Wight County, parts of Portsmouth City, Southampton County, Brunswick County, Greensville County, Franklin City, parts of Dinwiddie County, Emporia City, and parts of Chesapeake City. With over 164,000 registered voters, this is a competitive district that doesn’t lean in one direction or another.
This election will be held on November 7, 2023. Democratic Delegate Clint Jenkins and Republican candidate Delegate Emily Brewer will face each other in the general election for Virginia’s new 17th State Senate district. Delegate Jenkins has served in the House of Delegates since 2020. Delegate Brewer has served in the House of Delegates since 2018.Delegate Clint Jenkins has served in the House of Delegates since 2020. He sits on the Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee, the Public Safety Committee, and the General Laws Committee. He was raised in Suffolk, graduated from John F. Kennedy High School, and served in the United States Army. Delegate Jenkins earned his Bachelor of Arts at Saint Leo University and went on to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary for graduate studies. Currently, he runs a real estate company with his daughter.
Delegate Jenkins advocates for everyone’s right to make their own healthcare decisions with their doctors. If elected, he has stated he will fight to keep abortion access protected by law. He sees the impact that restrictions on abortion and other barriers to healthcare have had, especially on Black women. In 2019, he participated in a Men for Choice event hosted by REPRO Rising Virginia. Delegate Jenkins is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
Delegate Jenkins believes that every child should have access to quality public education, regardless of race, ethnicity, or zip code. He supports raising teacher pay and investing in public schools, so students have the resources they need to thrive. He considers broadband infrastructure imperative to the education of students in rural areas. Delegate Jenkins advocates for universal pre-kindergarten, noting these programs offer children a head start. He supports increasing overall education funding.
Delegate Jenkins advocates for sensible gun ownership and pledges to continue this advocacy if elected. He is endorsed by Giffords, an organization dedicated to gun violence prevention. He has fought against bills that aim to weaken commonsense gun violence prevention laws. He supports extreme risk protective orders and universal background checks. Delegate Jenkins sits on the public safety committee, where he voted against attempted rollbacks from Republican legislators. Previously he mentored youth as a way to serve his community and stop cycles of gun violence.
Delegate Jenkins believes every Virginian should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. He advocates for better transparency in pricing, as well as improved broadband access in rural communities for telehealth services. Previously, he worked as a crisis counselor for mental health, and he understands the need for policies that are trauma-informed. He supports Medicaid expansion, and if elected, he will fight against attempts to roll back on progress made in affordable healthcare access.
Democratic Delegate Clint Jenkins and Republican candidate Delegate Emily Brewer will face each other in this race. Delegate Brewer has served in the House of Delegates since 2018. During the 2023 General Assembly, she voted in favor of an anti-trans forced outing bill. She has stated support for abortion bans and has sponsored and voted for legislation that would weaken gun violence prevention laws.
Because of his commitment to healthcare access, gun violence prevention, and quality public education, Delegate Clint Jenkins is the progressive choice in this race.
City of Chesapeake
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Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below State Senate races on your ballot.
Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below House of Delegate races on your ballot.
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Virginia’s new 89th House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Chesapeake City and parts of Suffolk City. With over 64,000 registered voters, this district is a competitive district that doesn’t lean in one direction or another.
This election will be held on November 7, 2023. Democratic candidate Karen Jenkins and Republican candidate Baxter Ennis will face each other in the general election for Virginia’s new 89th House of Delegates district. Jenkins previously served on the Suffolk City School Board. Baxter previously ran in the 2022 Chesapeake City City Council At Large race. There is no incumbent running in this race.Karen Jenkins is a lifelong resident of the City of Suffolk and currently serves on the Suffolk School Board. Jenkins is a champion for education, public safety, and mental health. During her first term on Suffolk School Board, Jenkins participated in training and workshops to improve policies and procedures for Suffolk Public Schools. She was instrumental in developing business partnerships and programs to enhance student academic achievement and worked closely with state legislatures to gain funding for SPS.
As a mental health professional, Jenkins understands the importance of mental health resources. She pledges to advocate for legislation and funding to bring mental health awareness and resources to the district. Education is also a top priority for Jenkins. Working on the Suffolk School Board and with Suffolk Public Schools, she has a proven track record of prioritizing and putting students at the focus of our education system. In tandem with her focus on education, Jenkins believes that we all deserve to feel safe and have public safety resources available to us in our time of need. She plans to assess and modernize public safety systems in our district to meet our current and future needs. She has also received an endorsement from Planned Parenthood of Virginia.
Jenkins has the opportunity to make Virginia history. She is running for this seat at the same time as her husband, Delegate, Clint Jenkins, seeks the newly created seat in SD 17. If both were to win their respective seats, they would be the first married couple to serve contemporaneously in the state’s history.
Jenkin’s opponent is Republican City Councilman Baxter Ennis, a veteran. Councilman Ennis wants to provide unchecked funding to police. He supports a near-total abortion ban and repeats GOP lies about activists’ positions. He will do nothing about gun violence.
Despite limited available information on Karen Jenkins, the positions that she does advocate and the work she has done for public schools make her the progressive choice in this race.