Battle for an open Virginia Beach Senate seat could help decide control in Richmond
The open 7th Senate District seat in Virginia Beach has risen to one of the most well-financed and most closely watched races in the contest for control of the General Assembly.
Democrat Cheryl Turpin — a first-term delegate who jumped at the chance to move across the hall to the Senate when Republican Sen. Frank Wagner retired from the seat this year — is facing a challenge from Republican Jen Kiggans, a former Navy pilot who’s now a geriatric nurse practitioner.
It’s the only open Senate seat, and the outcome of the election could be key to control of the chamber, where Republicans currently hold a 20-19 majority.
It’s caught the attention of the Republican State Leadership Committee, an outside group that helps fund state races. Kiggans, who said she’s running because she’s tired of the divisiveness between politicians in Richmond, has received $490,000 from the RSLC, the most of any Virginia legislative candidate this year.
The top donor for many Democrats — Michael Bills and his Clean Virginia fund — also shows up near the top of Turpin’s donor list. Bills, his wife Sonjia Smith and his political action committee that donates to candidates who reject Dominion Energy have put $130,000 into Turpin’s campaign, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.
https://www.pilotonline.com/government/elections/vp-nw-elx-7th-senate-preview-20191029-t6gg5tfgmzbfncpev6gevstfeu-story.html
