I’d heard rumors about this for weeks, but this morning, Del. John Bell (HD-87), made it official and announced that he’s throwing his hat in the ring to take on faaaar-right State Sen. Dick Black (R, SD-13). As I wrote back on July 2, Democrats (Bell plus Lucero Wiley, Kyle Green, Jasmine Moawad-Barrientos, Suhas Subramanyam – who I hear will run for Bell’s HoD seat) are lining up to take on the anti-LGBT, anti-choice, pro-Assad extremist Black next year. This is one of the top two most winnable districts for Virginia Senate Democrats in 2019 – the other being Richmond-area Senate District 10, currently held by Republican Glen Sturtevant but won by Ralph Northam last year by a whopping 15 points! But yeah, we definitely need to win SD-13 next year, no doubt about it. See the press release, below, by Del. Bell, along with his 13 local endorsements (strong indication that he is the clear party favorite).
South Riding, VA: August 27, 2018. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Delegate John Bell, of South Riding, has announced his candidacy for Virginia State Senate District 13. Bell, a Democrat, will challenge Republican Senator Dick Black in the general election to be held November 5th, 2019.
In a statement Bell said, “It has been the greatest honor to serve the 87th District in the House of Delegates. I look forward to continuing that service in the State Senate. The people of the 13th District deserve a representative who will address issues that directly affect their lives like keeping children safe in schools, protecting reproductive choices for women and finding cost-effective transportation solutions, not someone who uses his platform to propagate an extremist agenda.”
Bell also announced endorsements from 13 local elected officials: House Minority Leader David Toscano (HD-57), Del. Hala Alaya (HD-51), Del. Jennifer Boysko (HD-86), Del. Karrie Delaney (HD-67), Del. Chris Hurst (HD-12), Del. Mark Levine (HD-45), Del. Kathleen Murphy (HD-34), Del. David Reid (HD-32), Del. Mark Sickles (HD-43), Sen. Adam Ebbin (SD-30), Sen. Barbara Favola (HD-31), Sen. Scott Surovell (SD-36) and Sen. Jennifer Wexton (SD-33).
“I am proud to endorse my friend and colleague Delegate John Bell in his campaign for the Virginia Senate” said VA State Senator and candidate for the 10th Congressional District Jennifer Wexton. “Over the past five years, I have come to know John to be a tenacious candidate, and thoughtful legislator. After we flip the U.S. House from Red to Blue in November, all eyes will turn to Virginia as we fight to flip our State Senate in 2019. There is no doubt in my mind that John is the right candidate to lead that fight.”
Bell is a retired U.S. Air Force Officer. He and his wife Margaret, a local realtor, have five children and three grandchildren.
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