Del. Amanda Batten Faces 2023 Rematch in House District 71

Del. Batten faces 2023 Rematch for House District 71

Amanda Batten, a leader of the House of Delegates Purple Caucus, will face school receptionist Jessica Anderson in House District 71 race.

Published September 29, 2025

Three-term Delegate Amanda Batten will face a 2023 rematch against Democrat school receptionist Jessica Anderson in this year’s election for House District 71.

Batten is serving her third term in the House of Delegates where she currently serves in leadership as Republican Caucus Chair. During her tenure in the legislature, Batten has championed education and criminal justice issues, seeking to support students who pursue dual enrollment or technical education and to increase penalties for criminals who use drones for illegal smuggling.

Batten served as Chief Co-Patron of Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears educational freedom bill help lower income students achieve better educational outcomes.

During the 2025 session, Batten helped lead a dozen Republicans in forming the “Purple Caucus,” an informal group of 12 Republicans in swing districts trying to share and support one another in the unique needs of their more moderate districts.

Delegate Amanda Batten and I had an incredibly productive meeting yesterday at the bipartisan Maternal Health Taskforce. As a mother myself, improving healthcare outcomes and supporting women across the Commonwealth is a key priority of mine.
(1/2)👇 pic.twitter.com/7AgxnEkBSz
— Kim Taylor (@KimTaylor_VA) March 21, 2025

Batten was named one of the three national Sound Money Legislators of the Year for her fight against regressive tax policies and inflation. She was named 2005 Industrial Strength Leader by the Virginia Manufacturers Association.

Batten says her next term will focus on education and energy policy, especially addressing education technologies like Artificial Intelligence and managing data center energy consumption without impacting homeowners.

This week in celebration of National Clean Energy Week, the Energy Right team co-hosted 'A Conversation on Virginia’s Energy Future' with AFP-VA and ACC-VA.

Attendees heard from Delegate Amanda Batten and Virginia Energy Director Glenn Davis, who shared insights on the… pic.twitter.com/eFwwKyAQXr
— America First Energy Podcast (@AmericaFirstEP) September 19, 2025

The 2023 election was unusually close for Batten who won by a margin of 667 votes. She says this was because redistricting changed her district lines and put so many new voters in District 71. Batten says she has spent the past two years building relationships with her new constituents and is confident going into this election.

One seat to be watching in VA in November is HD-71 centered in Williamsburg and James City County. This Harris+5 seat has a GOP incumbent, Amanda Batten, who faced a close race in 2023.

May be one of the chamber’s closest races. pic.twitter.com/30JngL7USL
— Mountain West Politico (@coryfromtus) June 5, 2025

“It’s a very competitive district,” Batten said. “My margin of victory will be people who turn out in New Kent County to offset some of my more progressive friends, say, over in the city of Williamsburg and perhaps at the College of William and Mary.”

District 71 includes portions of James City, Williamsburg, and New Kent Counties.

Batten’s opponent, Democrat Jessica Anderson, is a school receptionist whose campaign is focused on abortion issues and green energy. Her top donors include Emily’s List – a pro-abortion organization, Green Advocacy Project and the Jane Fonda Climate PAC.