Democratic state Senator Creigh Deeds announced Monday that he will be seeking reelection in the new Senate district 11. This sets up a potential contentious Democratic primary between Deeds and a delegate who is rumored to be considering a run for this nomination in this district.
SD-11 is a district that Democrats should win with ease in the general election.
According to an analysis from VPAP, Democrat Terry McAuliffe won this district by 18 points during the 2021 gubernatorial elections.
Deeds currently represents SD-25, a district that mostly encompasses the areas west of Charlottesville.
The new SD-11 is comprised of 117,127 voters from Deeds’ current district, 31,007 from the former SD-17, and 24,919 from SD-22.
“The Virginia Senate stands as a brick wall against the backwards, regressive Youngkin administration,” Deeds said in his statement. “It is up to Virginia voters to not only reject these divisive principles but elect leaders that will fight to protect the fundamental freedoms Virginians have come to rely on. As long as I’m in the Senate, you can best believe I will do all that I can to prevent Governor Youngkin from taking us backwards.”
Rumors are circling heavily in Democratic circles that state Del. Sally Hudson (D) is considering a run against Deeds for the nomination.
Deeds and Hudson have both been big beneficiaries of Clean Virginia donations in recent years.
- Since 2020, Clean Virginia has given Deeds $40,000. Clean Virginia’s top founder Michael Bills has also given Deeds $5,000
- In the same time frame, Clean Virginia has given Hudson $27,500. Sonjia Smith, another large Democratic donor who is married to Michael Bills but not directly associated with Clean Virginia has also given Hudson $60,000.
When Virginia Scope inquired with Hudson recently about a potential run for the state Senate, she said she is focused on her current job right now and pushing back against the governor’s agenda. She did not provide Virginia Scope with any additional comment on Monday.
The nomination process will not take place until mid 2023.
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