SSPA’s 2025 Make Virginia Bluer Slate
SSPA wants to flip the governorship and make Abigail Spanberger the incoming Governor of Virginia. In addition, we are supporting the following candidates to flip their seats and strengthen the Democratic majority in the House of Delegates.
Elizabeth Guzman – HD-22
Elizabeth Guzman is no stranger to the House of Delegates. She served three terms there before stepping down when redistricting put her in the same district as another Democratic incumbent. The first Latina immigrant to serve in the General Assembly, Elizabeth introduced more than 100 bills while serving on the Commerce and Energy Committee, the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, and the Education Committee. She helped deliver Medicaid expansion in 2018, expanding access to affordable healthcare to 400,000 people in the Commonwealth, and, as a second-generation union member, led the fight for a “paid sick days” law so no Virginian had to choose between their health and a paycheck. She also passed historic legislation that lifted Virginia’s blanket ban on public sector collective bargaining. While staying true to her values, Elizabeth looks forward to working again in a bipartisan way to bridge the urban-rural divide and support children and families across the Commonwealth.
John McAuliff – HD-30
John McAuliff is running for the Virginia House of Delegates for District 30, the Piedmont of Virginia. As the former Chief of Staff to Delegate David Reid (HD-28), John spent three years working to expand health insurance access for Virginians, reduce the costs of college tuition, and transition Virginia off fossil fuels. John is running to unseat Republican incumbent Geary Higgins, a proponent of unchecked data center expansion. John will work to pass legislation that preserves farmland, continues to build clean, sustainable energy alternatives, helps first-time home buyers, and protects reproductive and human rights.
Lily Franklin – HD- 41
Lilly has deep roots in Southwest Virginia and is running to make sure her region isn’t overlooked. She is a former math teacher who worked for Teach for America and a House of Delegates staffer who would come to the legislature with a great deal of political experience and personal connections to other delegates. As a chief of staff to a delegate, she helped her boss pass laws providing microgrants for farmers, helping domestic violence survivors stay in their homes, limiting “forever chemicals” in drinking water, and creating the first-of-its-kind program that puts constituents in charge of bill writing. When she is elected in her own right, she’ll focus on education, affordable home ownership, and economic development in Southwest VA, among other issues. Lilly ran against the same incumbent in 2023, falling just 183 votes. She is back this year, with more momentum, more resources, and greater name recognition!
Stacey Carroll – HD-64
Stacey Carroll is a CPA and auditor, as well as a member of the US Army Reserve serving in the WV National Guard for 19 years. Named Spotlight Foster Parent of the Year by the Fredericksburg Department of Social Services, she fostered 22 children/teens while raising three of her own! Losing two siblings during COVID, including a sister who lacked PPE as an essential worker, Carroll coordinated emergency responses across WV. “Who’re you going to trust with your taxes?” she asks—“a politician or an auditor of government contracts?” Her endorsers include many union locals, Planned Parenthood, Vote Vets and numerous state and federal legislators.
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Jessica Anderson – HD-71
Jessica “Jess” Anderson is in a rematch of the 2023 race, which she lost narrowly — by less than 2% (667 votes). She is not a career politician, but an everyday person with a passion for advocating for the needs of her community. Jess has raised her family in the 71st district, which includes Williamsburg and parts of James City and New Kent counties, and she understands the real struggles that families face in the district. After a challenging divorce, Jess struggled to provide health insurance for her daughters, and to meet everyday financial expenses, while trying to reenter the workforce. She saw firsthand how crucial and life-saving social safety nets are for families and this experience led her to seek public office. As a state legislator, she would encourage companies to bring high-paying jobs to the Commonwealth and protect workers by ensuring they have a livable wage. Her priorities also include improving access to affordable housing, fully funding public schools, passing sensible gun storage laws, and protecting access to quality healthcare, including reproductive healthcare.
Leslie Mehta – HD-73
Leslie Mehta’s life and career has been all about service. Raised in a small rural town in North Carolina, her parents worked multiple jobs to support their family while also helping to lift up others in their community. Leslie’s a lawyer and former Legal Director of the ACLU of Virginia, where she fought for civil rights and constitutional protections. She has served under both Democratic and Republican governors – on Governor Northam’s Commission on Racial Inequity in the Law and on Governor Youngkin’s Rare Disease Council – demonstrating her ability to work across party lines in service to people.
She is very dedicated to creating better healthcare policies and expanded support for all families who need it. Her oldest daughter, Brooke, passed away in 2021 from a rare disease at just five years of age. That experience opened her eyes to the daunting challenges families can face and redoubled her commitment to making a difference. As the interim CEO of the International Rett Syndrome Foundation, Leslie is pushing for increased for research, funding, and the kind of healthcare reforms that save lives.
Kimberly Pope Adams – HD-82
In the most competitive House race of 2023 against the same opponent, Adams came within 53 votes of flipping this seat after a recount! Kim was born and raised in this district by working-class parents, one of whom was a union worker, and she is now raising her family in the district. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Kim has spent nearly her entire career as a public servant for the state, as an accountant and auditor.
As the mother of a public school student, Kim supports adequate funding of public schools in the district, including increased per-pupil spending and adequate pay for teachers. She will fight to ensure that women have the right to make their own reproductive decisions by opposing any attempt to ban or invoke obstacles to abortion, or to attempt to limit or restrict women’s access to contraception. And, with her experience as an accountant and auditor, Kim is ready to pursue transparency and accountability in Richmond!
Kacey Carnegie – HD-89
Democratic candidate Kacey Carnegie has life-long roots in the Chesapeake and Suffolk area of Virgina, where she continues to live with her husband Adam and two daughters Elsi and Piper who attend public school. She is running for a competitive open seat in the House of Delegates. Her opponent is a former ICE agent closely aligned with Governor Youngkin’s policies.
Kacey wants to build a strong infrastructure that supports employment, increases transportation options, ensures availability of affordable housing, and advocates for a strong public school system. Specifically, she wants to bring down the price of child care, increase the number of bus stops, increase housing options, and strengthen job training, job fairs, and job opportunities, especially in light of what is happening on the federal level to job opportunities in her area. She is well aware of the challenges that many in her community will face due to the drastic cuts to Medicaid, and would work with the legislators on both sides of the aisle for a budget that will protect the citizens of Virginia.