City of Portsmouth

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Don Scott was first elected to represent the 80th District in the House of Delegates in 2019. With district lines redrawn, he will now run for the 88th district. He is the current leader of the Virginia House Democratic Caucus. Leader Scott is originally from Houston, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M University. He later joined the U.S. Navy and earned a law degree from Louisiana State University after leaving the Navy. Leader Scott founded his own law firm and is a member of the NAACP and VFW. He and his wife live in Portsmouth with their daughter.

In 1994, Leader Scott was convicted of drug charges and served seven years in federal prison. He believes in second chances and works to reform the criminal justice system to reduce its harmful impact on communities of color. He co-patroned the House bill to legalize marijuana and wants to ensure that legalization will benefit communities ravaged by the drug war. He voted to abolish the death penalty in 2021 and unsuccessfully sponsored legislation to decriminalize certain drugs. He also co-patroned the constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to returning citizens this year as well.

As a resident of a coastal area, Leader Scott understands the urgency of the climate crisis. In 2020, he supported the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act, which reduces carbon emissions from power plants and provides protection to regions experiencing flooding issues. Leader Scott advocates for incentivizing electric vehicle use for marginalized communities and creating infrastructure to support electric vehicles. In 2020, he voted for the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which commits the Commonwealth to 100% clean energy by 2050.

Leader Scott believes in keeping communities safe by passing common sense measures to reduce gun violence. In 2020, he voted for universal background checks, keeping guns out of the wrong hands with extreme risk protection orders, and restoring a limit on handgun purchases to one a month. Additionally, he voted to pass legislation to increase penalties for allowing minors to access guns. In the last session, he co-sponsored HB 2387, which would establish a refundable income tax credit for firearm safety devices and voted no on HB 509, which would repeal the extreme risk protection order law.

Leader Scott wants working families in Virginia to live with dignity and supports raising the minimum wage. He advocated to expand protections offered to tenants during the pandemic to remain in place when the pandemic is over. He also wants to make the pursuit of higher education more affordable so people have more job opportunities and voted for the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back “G3” program, which offers free tuition at community colleges for low- and middle-income students who study in certain fields.

Leader Scott is running unopposed, but due to his support of criminal justice reform, the environment, gun violence prevention, and working families, he is the progressive choice in this race. Close Window

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Cliff Hayes was born in Chesapeake and has represented the 77th District in the House of Delegates since 2016. With the redrawn district lines, he will now run for the 91st District. He attended Norfolk State University, where he played basketball and completed post-graduate studies at multiple institutes of higher education. He spent his professional career working in information technology and technology policy. He also served as a member of the Chesapeake City Council from 2004 to 2012. He has two college-aged daughters and lives with his wife in Chesapeake.

Serving as the chair of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, Del. Hayes is a strong advocate for technological developments that boost the economy and protect the environment. He introduced and successfully passed legislation that created a major offshore wind generation facility. His work on this project led him to receive a certificate of appreciation from the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Delegate Hayes also voted in favor of the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which will transition Virginia’s energy grid to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Delegate Hayes has worked to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all Virginians. He voted in favor of Medicaid expansion in 2018, which granted access to affordable healthcare to 400,000 Virginians. Del. Hayes was chief co-patron of a bill that expanded telemedicine services and ensured Virginians could safely see their doctors during the pandemic and beyond. He also voted to make abortion coverage available on the state health insurance exchange. He voted to cap insulin prices at $50, and he introduced and passed a bill to make it easier for pharmacies to distribute marijuana and CBD-based products. He voted no on HB 212, which would have reinstated mandatory waiting periods before a person can have an abortion and voted yes on SB 1276, which repeals the abortion prohibition in Virginia health insurance plans.

Delegate Hayes has supported increased school funding at all levels. He voted in favor of a budget which gave teachers a 5% raise, increased funding for school counselors and nurses, and additional money to ensure schools can safely reopen during the pandemic. Del. Hayes also worked to make higher education more affordable by voting for the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) program, which makes community college tuition-free for low-and middle-income students who study in certain fields.

As a member of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, Del. Hayes has supported bills to ensure racial equity in Virginia. He voted to recognize racism as a public health crisis in the Commonwealth. The caucus also worked to ensure that the tax dollars received from the legalization of marijuana went to the Black and Brown communities that were disproportionately affected by drug enforcement. Del. Hayes also fought for the historical preservation and funding for the maintenance of Black cemeteries in Chesapeake.

Delegate Hayes’ opponent is Republican Thomas Powell. We could not find any information on him at the time of research.

Due to his support of the environment, access to affordable healthcare, public education, and racial justice, Delegate Cliff Hayes is the most progressive choice for the 91st District. Close Window