Democrat Jackie Glass will represent Virginia’s 89th House District. According to preliminary results in a Tuesday special election, Glass received 75.11 percent of the votes while Republican Giovanni Dolmo got 24.68 percent in a battle to replace former Delegate Jay Jones (D-Norfolk), who announced his resignation in December.
Glass is a Navy veteran who ran unsuccessfully for Norfolk City Council in November. Glass’ campaign website touts her work in her community including as a social entrepreneur.
“Jackie consults with businesses, organizations, and governments to recognize and improve markets and policies influenced by racism, sexism, and classism,” her website explains. “Jackie oversees the operations and creative direction of the Your Neighbor’s Hood- a podcast for uncomfortable culture conversation specifically about race, Mamas on the Block (MOB) – a civic action organization for mothering women, The Mayher – a podcast that normalizes women in local leadership, the way they live and legislate.”
Jones announced his retirement on December 21, triggering some confusion among potential candidates while Democrats lined up Glass for nomination at a drive-through caucus. Dolmo was hand-picked by the Norfolk GOP chair and the second congressional district GOP chair.
During the brief campaign, Glass raised $52,590, including $10,000 from House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn’s (D-Fairfax) Energized for Change PAC, according to VPAP. Dolmo raised $8,048, including small donations from multiple Republican delegates.
House District 89 is similar to neighboring House District 90, where a special election in January 2021 saw now-Delegate Angelia Graves (D-Norfolk) win with 63.49 percent of the vote. District 89 consistently votes overwhelmingly for Democrats. Norfolk Republicans knew it was an uphill battle, but contested the seat, hoping that they could motivate enough core Republicans to win in a low-turnout special election.
In November 2021, Jones was re-elected with 79.76 percent of 21,593 votes, beating Hahns Copeland. Dolmo appears to have performed slightly better than Copeland, earning 24.68 percent of the 5,267 votes cast according to preliminary results.
Republicans will continue to hold a 52-seat majority in the House when the 2022 session begins on Wednesday.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Giovanni Dolmo” by Giovanni Dolmo. Photo “Jackie Glass” by Jackie Glass. Background Photo “Virginia Capitol” by Anderskev. CC BY 3.0.
