Democratic delegate Michael Feggans stood outside the Kempsville Library Friday afternoon speaking with a group of voters. The library was one of six stops he made that day on a bus tour around Virginia Beach.
Feggans and his Republican challenger, Tim Anderson, had packed schedules Saturday and Sunday.
“The weekend is so important because there’s a lot on the line,” Feggans said.
The winner of the 97th district in Virginia Beach may decide which party controls the House of Delegates next year. The Virginia Senate voted Oct. 31 to pass a constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps next year. If it passes a second time, the new map likely would give Democrats an advantage in the 2026 midterm election.
But a Republican majority would change that, Anderson said.
“They’ve all but said, if they’re able to get this constitutional amendment through, they’re going to draw 10 Democrat seats in Virginia, which is legal, but insane, you know?” Anderson said. “And so the only way people can stop that is the House of Delegates, if we flip it.”
Both candidates plan to campaign until the end.
Feggans hosted a prayer breakfast with faith leaders Saturday morning and an early vote block party Saturday afternoon. He planned to visit churches Sunday.
Anderson, an attorney who previously served in the legislature, greeted voters on Saturday at Central Library. He said he’d spend the remaining days of the campaign knocking on doors and visiting polling locations Tuesday.
Feggans, a veteran and small business owner, is seeking a second term representing the 97th District.
In his first term, Feggans championed legislation focused on affordable housing, tenant protections and flooding issues. He also voted for the passage of the bill known as Lucia’s Law, which holds gun owners accountable if they allow children and teens with violent histories under their care to access firearms.
Feggans said he’s most proud of making tuition assistance more accessible to Virginia National Guard members. Previously, National Guard members had to pay tuition upfront and then get reimbursed, he said.
“It's so important to make sure that they're able to get their education,” he said.
If re-elected, he said, affordability would be a top priority.
Anderson served in the former 83rd House District and unsuccessfully ran for the GOP nomination in a state senate race in 2023 after redistricting.
Anderson was elected in 2021 to the General Assembly in the former 83rd House District. He resigned his seat in 2023 to unsuccessfully seek the GOP nomination in a state senate race after redistricting meant, as he put it, his district was “drawn out.”
He said he hopes to return to the General Assembly to continue his efforts in the House of Delegates.
At the Central Library, Anderson’s leading message undoing Virginia’s car tax.
“We have a budget surplus in Virginia and we can reallocate that surplus to give people car tax relief,” he said during an interview. “I think, with the economy not being great, people are struggling.”
Anderson’s other core issues include the health of the Chesapeake Bay, including the overfishing of menhaden, and pollution. He called the bay “the environmental disaster that nobody seems to care about.”
Anderson said he’s trying to appeal to a wide range of voters, and he would work across party lines if returned to the legislature.
Mechelle Hankerson contributed reporting.