"He's a Republican, I'm a Democrat — but all of our constituents go to the same Starbucks."
Del.-elect Kacey Carnegie (D–Chesapeake) says she ran to represent her hometown Virginia House district because she wanted to make sure people in her community "had a voice in Richmond."
Carnegie has deep ties to House District 89. She grew up in the part of Chesapeake included in HD89, and her husband is from the part of Suffolk that sits in the district. Their two daughters attend Chesapeake public schools, and Carnegie is a probate attorney with a law firm in the city.
She defeated Republican Mike Lamonea in what was seen as one of November's most competitive House races, flipping the seat to help Democrats expand their majority.
VPM News Reporter Dean Mirshahi recently spoke to Carnegie at her law office in Chesapeake, as part of a series of interviews conducted with the newest members of Virginia's House of Delegates, elected in November of 2025. (Links to interviews with the other delegates can be found at the bottom of this story.)
Carnegie spoke about what voters told her on the campaign trail, cutting taxes as a way to make life more affordable, data centers and the focus of her first bill.
This interview has been lightly edited for style and clarity.
Dean Mirshahi: Could you introduce yourself and the district you'll soon be representing?
Kacey Carnegie: I am a local attorney. I do anything and everything that has to do with estates: administration, planning and litigation.
More importantly, I'm a mom. I have two young daughters, Elsie and Piper, who go to local public schools right here in Chesapeake. I've been married to my husband, Adam, for 17 years, and he is actually from the Suffolk portion of the 89th District. I was born and raised in the Chesapeake portion of the district, and so together, we make one big 89th team.
It's my home, and it's the community I care about. When I decided to run, it was with that in mind. I wanted to make sure that everybody in this community — both in Chesapeake and Suffolk — had a voice in Richmond.
What have you learned from voters during your campaign, and how do you plan to translate that once you get into office?
Throughout the campaign, we knocked on a lot of doors, we made a lot of phone calls, and a common theme I was hearing was people are scared. We have a lot of federal workers in this district because we're next to Norfolk. When people come here as part of the military, they stay and retire and start to work for the federal government. They're scared with what's happening on the federal level.
We have amazing schools here in Chesapeake and in Suffolk, but because of that, we have some overcrowding. People are concerned about that and want to make sure that that's fixed.
I think aside from the issues that we want to address, the biggest thing I heard was trust. People want legislators they can trust. They don't care if they're Republicans. They don't care if they're Democrats. They want someone who's going to listen to them and do something about it.
While I was knocking on doors, a lot of people I ran into would recognize me because they knew one of my siblings, or my dad had done their taxes, or I had represented them in some capacity. They said, "We know we can trust you. We know you. We don't care what party you are, we know that you're going to listen and get things done in Richmond."
You campaigned on building a "community-first economy." Can you talk about what that means and how you expect to accomplish that?
A community-first economy is an economy that works for everybody. It's lowering the price of health care. It's making sure that groceries are affordable. It's making sure that child care is affordable.
The first year that both my daughters were in full-time child care, it cost $21,000. That's not right. People shouldn't have to choose between going to work or having someone provide care for their children.
It's about making sure we're implementing legislation that protects those things — that caps the price of health insurance, that makes sure that we're protecting Medicaid from the cuts that are happening on the federal level. It's reducing or eliminating the grocery tax and the car tax.
It's making life more affordable in general, and making sure all of our children are getting a first-class education regardless of where they live — and that teachers have what they need and are not being forced to teach in classrooms that are overcrowded.
Can you talk about your first bills or the proposals that you're thinking about?
I'm a probate attorney, so I'm probably the only delegate that's like, "Let me get into Title 64.2 and shake it up." There are some sections within our probate code that need to be tweaked.
I'd like to work on legislation that raises the minimum wage, makes sure health insurance is affordable, makes sure that child care is affordable by providing stipends and tax credits, and makes sure that our grocery tax is reduced or eliminated.
The legislation we're looking at right now is focused on making sure that Virginia is more affordable for everyone.
Coming in with a big majority in the House, you'll be able to get legislation passed with only Democratic votes. But with such a house majority, how do you expect to work across the aisle moving forward?
I think most issues are bipartisan issues and that we're all more alike than we think, so reaching across the aisle to get support from the other side is absolutely something I'm going to do.
It's kind of like being in the courtroom: You battle it out, and then after, you go out and have a bite to eat. I definitely plan on doing that; it's just a matter of working together for what's best for your district.
Del. Jay Leftwich (R–Chesapeake) is in the next district over. He's a Republican, I'm a Democrat — but all of our constituents go to the same Starbucks. So, it's a matter of us working together to make sure we're doing a good job for individuals in our communities,
A lot of attention has been put on data centers. Is that something that you're following, or an issue that your district is dealing with?
Data centers are coming. I think they're something that we're going to have to deal with, and we have to make sure that legislation is put in place to make it so that they are paying for the electricity they consume. Because right now, they're consuming so much electricity that those rates are going up for everyone — and that's not fair for individuals who are not consuming that electricity.
We need legislation that reduces the rates for everyone else, makes data center operators pay their fair share, and ensures that they're being put in places where they aren't going to negatively affect the environment and people's quality of life.
There have been conversations about the amount of money the state has, and concerns about federal funding and Virginia's ability to cover Medicaid costs. How are you going to communicate with voters about budgeting constraints?
This is going to be one of the toughest budget years that there's ever been. We have a lot of items that were previously covered by the federal government that are no longer being funded. We're going to have to look into our pockets and figure out where it's going to come from.
Unfortunately, while we do have a huge rainy day fund, there are limits to when that can be accessed. It's all about priorities, and making sure that we're prioritizing health care, child care and everyday affordability for our constituents. If that means there will need to be cuts in other places, then we're going to have to do that.
What are your priorities for your first term, and when you look back at the end of your term, what do you hope to have accomplished?
My priorities are passing good legislation for my district; making sure that life's more affordable through health care, child care, reducing or eliminating the grocery tax and personal property taxes; and making sure that all of our kids are getting a first-class education.
If I can look back and be pleased with the fact that I have listened to my constituents — that I've passed good legislation for them and made the 89th District a better place — I will be satisfied with my first term.
Read VPM News' interviews with incoming delegates:
Del.-elect Jessica Anderson (HD-71)
Del.-elect Kacey Carnegie (HD-89)
Del.-elect Stacey Carroll (HD-64)
Del.-elect Mitchell Cornett (HD-46)
Del.-elect Lindsey Dougherty (HD-75)
Del.-elect Mark Downey (HD-69)
Del.-elect John McAuliff (HD-30)
Del.-elect Leslie Mehta (HD-73)
Del.-elect May Nivar (HD-57)
Del.-elect Virgil Thornton Sr. (HD-86)
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