Voting starts Friday, March 6 for the special election to fill the 98th House District seat following the death of longtime Del. Barry Knight.
Democrat Cheryl Smith challenged Knight in the regular 2025 House of Delegates election cycle and received 43.2% of the vote. Smith taught 38 years in Chesapeake and lives in the Ocean Lakes area.
She told WHRO she ran in 2025 because nobody signed up to challenge Knight.
“I want to make sure I represent the farmers, the people that live on the beach,” she said. “I want to represent the military and the veterans. And I want to make sure the teachers are getting good pay and the kids are in good schools.”
Rice, a Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney for the city, beat five others in a Republican Party primary. He grew up in Pungo and got the Knight family’s blessing before deciding to run.
"I go to church with these people. I live next to these people," Rice told WHRO. "I grew up in this community and I have to continue to live in this community."
He said he would represent “common-sense” conservative values, such as lower taxes, public safety and affordability.
Below, find a candidate questionnaire. Most of the questions are the same questions posed to all area candidates running for the House of Delegates in 2025, including Smith and Knight. For more information on WHRO's process of developing questions, click here.
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