Richmond – Democratic nominee Sheila Bynum-Coleman continues to generate major attention in her campaign to represent the 66th House district, which includes Colonial Heights and parts of Chesterfield County and Richmond City. Sheila is challenging Kirk Cox, a nearly 30-year Republican incumbent. As Speaker of the House of Delegates, Cox has led efforts to defeat legislation on LGBTQ+ rights, gun violence prevention, and voting rights without full floor votes. Cox also opposed Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act for years until Democrats flipped 15 seats in the House of Delegates in 2017.
HD-66 now leans Democratic following remedial redistricting ordered by a federal court to undo racial gerrymandering in Virginia’s House of Delegates map. As Speaker, Cox led the defense of the racially gerrymandered maps, funded by taxpayer dollars.
As Democrats are poised to win a majority in the House of Delegates for the first time in 20 years, Bynum-Coleman’s campaign continues to gain momentum on the ground and in local and national media outlets.
In Virginia, redrawn districts test Republicans — including House Speaker Kirk Cox
Laura Vozzella, Washington Post – August 3, 2019
“Bynum-Coleman speaks in passionate and personal terms about the liberal issues that have propelled her into politics. A son with a learning disability. A daughter who was shot. A cousin rejected by a landlord because she is married to another woman. Bynum-Coleman calls for more funding for schools, stricter gun control and a ban on LGBTQ discrimination in housing and public employment.”
“’I’m a mom on a mission. I’m in this to make things better,’ she said.”
A race unlike any other Kirk Cox has seen
Bill Atkinson, The Progress-Index – August 3, 2019
“Given the precarious nature of the Republican majority in the House, any number of Democratic challengers stands to be the MVP for the party come November. However, it is clear that the power-hitter at the plate could very well be Sheila Bynum-Coleman.”
“It never has been a question that Bynum-Coleman is a star on the rise in the state Democratic party. Her track record backs that up. Now, though, she is almost a rock star. And if she can pull off the upset, the stratosphere will be the limit for her.”
Va. House Democrats target top GOP leaders Cox, Jones with digital ads in their new districts
Patrick Wilson, Richmond Times-Dispatch – July 23, 2019
“Virginia House Democrats said they will spend $90,000 starting Tuesday for digital ads targeting two top GOP leaders, including Speaker of the House Kirk Cox.”
“’Cox and Jones need to be held accountable for their roles in blocking access to affordable health care and voting rights,’ Trevor Southerland, executive director of the House Democratic Caucus, said in the news release. ‘This year Democrats are going to flip the House and it’s strong candidates like Sheila and Clinton who will help lead the charge.’”
Virginia’s Anti-LGBTQ Laws May Finally Come to an End Thanks to Some Clever Campaigning
Matt Cohen, Mother Jones – June 18, 2019
“Bynum-Coleman tells Mother Jones she supports both of the nondiscrimination bills and also blames Cox for not pushing them through to a committee vote. ‘It’s hurtful to our democracy that the leader of the House of Delegates will not allow a bill to come to the floor that has enough votes to pass when it’s stuff that he doesn’t agree with,’ she says.”
“Both Equality Virginia and the Human Rights Campaign told Mother Jones they haven’t made any endorsements yet, but Acosta emphasizes the importance of the election: ‘If we want to see change in Virginia,’ he says, ‘Cox must go.’”
“The Blue Wave is really coming back”: How the Supreme Court just flipped the script in Virginia
Abigail Tracy, Vanity Fair – June 17, 2019
“The race for Virginia’s 66th is, in many ways, a microcosm of the political trends and battles that have come to define the Trump era. Bynum-Coleman is a pro-choice woman; Cox voted in favor of a House resolution that declared the anniversary of the passage of Roe v. Wade a ‘Day of Tears’ and has compared aborted fetuses to fallen soldiers. Bynum-Coleman wants to increase Virginia’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour; during Cox’s time as speaker, Republicans have blocked all legislation to raise it. Bynum-Coleman, whose daughter is a gun violence survivor, is an advocate for gun control legislation; Cox has called efforts to study the issue after the Virginia Beach mass shooting ‘hasty and suspect’. The list goes on.”