Two years ago, Delegate Kim Taylor won House District 82 by a razor thin margin despite being outspent by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams wants a rematch.
The 2023 race for District 82, which includes the city of Petersburg and the surrounding counties of Prince George, Dinwiddie, and Surry, was one of the most expensive campaigns of the past three decades. Millions of dollars poured in from out of state donors to support the Democrat but despite those headwinds, Republican Kim Taylor defeated Adams by a razor thin margin of 53 votes. More than 28,500 ballots were cast that year.
After losing the 20203 election, Adams challenged the results and requested a recount which ultimately confirmed the results. (RELATED: Virginia Democrats Face Backlash for Mocking Charlie Kirk Assassination)
During her time in the legislature, Delegate Taylor has championed maternal healthcare and child advocacy. Governor Glenn Youngkin signed legislation she sponsored adopting standardized protocols for obstetric emergencies.
“As a mother and Delegate, I have worked tirelessly for the last four years to address the urgent health challenges faced by mothers in Virginia, ensuring new and expecting mothers have access to vital resources and care,” Taylor said.
Called the “Safety Bundle Bill,” Taylor’s maternal health initiatives sought to protect IVF, expand tax deductions for parents, and enhance the care provided to expectant mothers. Some of her bills were signed into by Governor Glenn Youngkin.
“The ‘Safety Bundle’ bills bring a new level of comprehensive care for moms as we work to make Virginia the healthiest place for moms to give birth to babies,” Youngkin said.
Taylor also authored and championed the bill allowing Petersburg to vote on casino expansion calling the development a “once-in-a-lifetime economic project” that would double the city’s per capita income.
In her effort to protect children, Taylor authored legislation prohibiting sex offenders from “loitering” near schools and playgrounds but the proposal was quietly killed by Democrat leadership.
“[This] isn’t a partisan issue, it’s a basic duty of any community that values safety and decency,” Taylor said decrying the partisan process that she says killed that bill and another toughening penalties for sex trafficking. (RELATED: House Democrats Add $1 Million to Help House Candidates in Battleground Campaigns)
Taylor’s opponent is Kimberly Pope Adams. When Adams announced, Speaker of the House Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) and Abigail Spanberger immediately endorsed her campaign, making it clear that Democrats were prioritizing this swing seat.
“Clearly the entire Democratic Party is targeting this race as a key one just as they did in the last election,” said Richard Meagher, a political science professor at Randolph Macon College. (RELATED: Low Turnout, High Margin: Democrats Capture Virginia’s 11th Congressional District)
Adams has benefited tremendously from donations by the House Democratic Caucus and by various abortion groups. She has received support from various liberal groups including the Sister District Project, who partnered with Teen Vogue to produce LGBTQ content targeting children and teenagers.
Adams is a career government employee who has worked to unionize other government employees. She claims Republicans are trying to “roll back” voting and civil rights including what she calls a “God-Given right” to abortion.