New Kent County

Keith Braxton is a mentor and public servant to those in his community, and he has always been a values-driven leader. He began his career of leadership as a coach for the VMI Keydets, and went on to lead many teams across divisions and colleges to successful seasons. Eventually, Keith found his passion in teaching. Today, he continues to teach students at Patrick Henry and Atlee High School.

Braxton is a working man running for working people. He understands that the process is rigged against working people, but wants to fight for a system that grants adequate representation to all voices and perspectives in the community. Braxton supports many measures designed to benefit working families, such as a Child Tax Credit, universal public pre-k, paid parental leave, high quality maternal care, access to IVF, and affordable healthcare.

As a public school teacher, Braxton has an intimate understanding of the needs of our students, faculty, and school staff. He wants more funding for schools in general and specifically wants to ensure teachers are given the support they deserve and require. He opposes Republican attacks on public education and wants to fight back against the restrictive social agenda they’ve been pushing. Additionally, he supports universal free lunch and increased funding for transportation that would ensure all students can get to school and feel safe and appreciated.

Braxton is fundamentally a believer in a person’s right to choose what is best for themselves. That’s why he’s a staunch advocate for abortion access: he believes that the government has no place in the doctor’s office. Additionally, he names religious freedom as a core principle of our state and nation. He says that people should be free to worship in any manner they see fit, regardless of faith, and opposes Republican efforts to push a Christian agenda.

Braxton also believes in a multifaceted approach to public safety. He wants to ensure all people feel safe by increasing funding for mental health, incentivizing police to live in the communities they police, requiring higher standards for police training, funding a more diverse police force, banning assault weapons, raising the minimum age for firearms purchases to 21, and establishing universal background checks.

Braxton is challenging incumbent Republican Scott Wyatt, a retired telecommunications manager. Wyatt opposes legislative measures to keep our communities safe from gun violence and is against abortion access. He also voted against raising the minimum wage, legalizing marijuana, and abolishing the death penalty.

Given his support for common sense gun legislation, initiatives that benefit working people, and public education, Braxton is decidedly the progressive choice in this race. Close Window

Jessica Anderson is an everyday person who advocates for her community. She is a lifelong Virginian, a mother of three daughters, and a stepmother to a son and daughter. She attained her Associate's Degree in Business Administration while pregnant with her second born. She worked full-time with a local family dental practice for over 7 years before opting to be a stay-at-home mom for 2 years. She found herself struggling to provide health insurance for her young daughters and unable to meet financial needs for daily necessities while going through a difficult divorce. This moment showed her just how important and lifesaving social safety nets are to families.
Anderson is a firm believer in abortion access and will fight to ensure it is protected in Virginia. She recognizes the importance of access to healthcare for her four daughters and opposes burdensome laws on healthcare professionals that put people in danger. She believes that legislators have no business in doctor's offices, making personal decisions and putting healthcare providers at legal risk simply for providing care. She opposes further arbitrary laws that are nothing more than political grandstanding and serve no purpose than to control this deeply personal decision. She supports the long-standing law in Virginia that demands healthcare providers respond quickly and ethically if a pregnancy is terminated in the 3rd trimester and to make every attempt and give any and all medical care required to ensure the child lives and thrives.

Anderson believes that public education is crucial to the Commonwealth of Virginia and especially District 71. She opposes policies like "No Child Left Behind" and standardized testing that have dismantled public education both financially and structurally. She believes these policies have resulted in curricula that are far less engaging, focused on teaching to test, and push students through the system who have missed out on much-needed resources. She opposes policies like taking public school funding and putting it into private schools and book banning that are causing further harm to educators, students, and families. She will always stand for parental rights and advocate for meaningful dialogue between educators and families to reach the best compromise for all parties.

Anderson will advocate for workers in Virginia to get access to basic benefits that others take for granted. She supports paid family and medical leave. She also supports earned sick time, which would provide every worker in Virginia with a minimum of 40 hours of earned sick time every year. She believes that families across Virginia need increased access to quality, affordable childcare programs. She also believes that living and aging at home should be a viable option for any Virginian who wishes to do so and wants to ensure that Virginia has the infrastructure and workforce in place to meet the growing demand for in-home nurses and care staff.

Anderson will fight for responsible gun ownership. She supports implementing universal background checks. She also believes that guns should always be stored in a secure manner, locked and unloaded, particularly in households where children are present. She supports investing in community-based violence prevention programs to help address the root causes of gun violence. She believes that extreme risk protection laws are critical in saving lives and preventing gun violence. She is committed to voting on and advocating for common sense, responsible gun safety legislation that aims to keep kids and communities safe.

Anderson is running against Incumbent Delegate Amanda Batten (R). Batten voted against the Virginia Voting Rights Act, the Virginia Clean Economy Act, and the legalization of marijuana. She also opposed abolishing the death penalty in Virginia and raising the minimum wage.

Because of her positions on gun control, public education, and healthcare, Anderson is the clear progressive choice in this race.
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