VIRGINIA BEACH — One of Virginia’s most pivotal House of Delegates races sits in central Virginia Beach.
In House District 97, Democrat incumbent Del. Michael Feggans is facing former state delegate Tim Anderson, a Republican who previously represented western Virginia Beach and a sliver of Norfolk’s Ocean View area. The race could be a tipping point for Republicans, where Democrats currently hold a narrow 51-49 majority.
At a recent Republican fundraiser, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said District 97 “is going to be the road to the majority.”
Youngkin asked voters to support Anderson and quipped he has a jersey with the number 50 on it for Anderson at a Sept. 21 fundraiser for Del. Barry Knight in Virginia Beach. Youngkin’s basketball jersey number when he played at Norfolk Academy was 50.
“That’s the 50th seat right there,” Youngkin said. “That’s going to be the seat that changes everything.”
Feggans knows how high the stakes are for the district, posting on social media that it’s “the toughest reelection race in the House of Delegates.” It’s also a high value race — the two candidates have combined raised more than a million dollars.
The battleground district has roughly 63,000 voters. In the 2024 presidential election, voters in District 97 narrowly favored Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, but voters there backed Youngkin in 2021.
Feggans, an Air Force veteran, won the seat in the 2023 after the district was redrawn.
Anderson, an attorney, previously represented a different district in Virginia Beach from 2022-2023 and moved to the 97th District to run. He won the Republican primary in June, defeating Christina Felder.
If elected, Anderson says he’ll work to eliminate Virginia’s car tax by reallocating funds from the state’s budget surplus. The governor supported car tax relief in this year’s budget, but Democrats voted it down.
He also wants to repeal the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act, which aims to reduce the commonwealth’s reliance on electric-generated power and boost offshore wind and solar sources. Anderson, 51, also said he would support measures to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic use.
Feggans, 42, wants to find ways to lower health care and housing costs and support small businesses if reelected. He’ll use guidance from the House Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions, which he served on this year, he said.
He’ll also continue to push for strengthening Virginia’s cybersecurity infrastructure and growing Hampton Roads’ offshore wind workforce.
Accomplishments
Both candidates have been getting their names in the public eye this election season.
Anderson is representing more than 100 Virginia Beach public school teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other contractual employees who filed a lawsuit against Superintendent Donald R. Robertson Jr., alleging Robertson knew since March that employee insurance premiums were likely going to be double the current amount, but intentionally hid the information from the workers until after they’d signed their annual contracts.
“He (Feggans) hasn’t said one thing about 7,000 teachers and Virginia Beach city employees who have been totally screwed over by the school system in Virginia Beach,” said Anderson.
When asked about his position, Feggans said in an interview that he’s “hoping the school system will come to a resolution.”
Anderson doesn’t shy away from politically-charged cases. In 2022, he unsuccessfully litigated a to declare two books obscene for children. He is challenging the legalities of cities collecting revenue from speed cameras, so far unsuccessfully. But he said he’s appealing the case to the Virginia Supreme Court. Anderson won a high-profile suit this spring when a judge ruled that a Virginia Beach Catholic school erred in its decision to suspend a student for not immediately reporting that a classmate had a bullet.
“I get into these public fights… when the government’s not acting right,” Anderson said.
Feggans stepped into the spotlight recently as he rallied for residents near Mount Trashmore who are dealing with a foul smell coming from a creek behind their homes. Feggans is working on adding aerators to the waterway to reduce the odor.
He pointed out that a host of legislation he carried at this year’s General Assembly was supported across the aisle and under the leadership of a Republican governor. Among them, the renaming of a Virginia Beach bridge after a fallen firefighter.
Feggans carried a budget amendment to make child care more affordable for teachers in Virginia Beach’s Title I schools. The YMCA will partner with the public school system for use of its child care centers as well as establishing on-site centers in schools.
“I think that speaks to my bipartisan nature,” he said. “People continue to be excited about the vision that I have.”
While serving as a state delegate, Anderson supported legislation that led to a $40,000 tax break for veteran military retirement income. He served as the chief patron for at least two bills that successfully passed: a resolution commending a volunteer fire department and legislation related to the Oyster Replenishment Fund.
Anderson didn’t seek reelection after redistricting in 2021 because he didn’t want to oust another Republican. He lost the Republican primary for a state Senate seat in 2023.
Advertisements
The two candidates are taking different approaches to campaigning. Anderson often jabs at Feggans on social media while Feggans avoids mentioning his opponent; instead he’s run ads touting his ability to stand up for voters.
Pro-Feggans or anti-Anderson TV advertisements have totaled more than $500,000 in the District 97 race this year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks campaign expenditures.
Feggans’ first ad this year features images of him through the years with a narrator commending his military service and his record as a state legislator including Feggans’ support for expanded job training, lowering drug costs and standing up to the Trump administration’s federal spending cuts.
In a recent Facebook post, Anderson warned voters they would soon be flooded with Feggans’ TV advertisements.
“Don’t be fooled by the snake oil salesman on your screen,” Anderson wrote. “Accountability matters — and Feggans runs from it every time.”
“I am swinging at him,” said Anderson, 51, in an interview last week.
Anderson also called out Feggans on a Facebook post for a $83,000 federal tax lien from unpaid income taxes on his business in 2021 and 2022. Feggans is the chief technology integrator of his small business Outerbridge Technical Solutions.
“I’ve made a miscalculation on what I was supposed to hold back,” Feggans said in an interview. “I’m paying the IRS back.”
Feggans has outraised Anderson in campaign finance with $627,664 as of Aug. 31, according to the VPAP. Anderson has raised $384,917.
Feggans’ largest donor this year is the House Democratic Caucus at $146,374. He also received $51,500 from Clean Virginia Fund and $16,496 from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. Feggans ranks 17th for the most money raised among House candidates in the latest report period of July 1 through Aug. 31.
Anderson’s top donor in this election is Republican Party of Virginia with $39,481, followed by $36,500 from Moving Mountains PAC.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com