Clarification on Rodgers' campaign for state Senate
It wasn't clear at first which district she plans to run in.
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Rodgers announces run for state Senate
Alexsis Rodgers is a former Richmond Mayoral candidate and is currently the chair of the VA-04 Congressional Democratic Committee. She also announced on Wednesday that she plans to run for the state Senate after Jennifer McClellan wins the VA-04 special election next month.
It wasn’t exactly clear at the time, however, if Rodgers meant she would run in a special election to fill the state Senate seat immediately, or if she is planning to run in the June primary for the new district that McClellan would have run for reelection in later this year. Her filing listed her address as being in Sen. Ghazala Hashmi’s current district. It is in the newly drawn district that McClellan would have represented, however.
A spokesperson for Rodgers cleared up the confusion.
According to a spokesperson for Rodgers, she has two residences, one in Hashmi’s current district, and another in both the new and old districts.
“Alexsis Rodgers filed as a candidate for the newly drawn Senate District 14 at her residence in the district,” said Sheri Shannon, a spokesperson for Rodgers. “She has a second residence in the overlap of the current Senate District 9 and the newly drawn SD14. If a special election is called after Sen. McClellan’s election to Congress, Alexsis will be eligible to run.”
Both Del. Lamont Bagby (D) and Del. Jeff Bourne (D) are also expected to seek the Democratic nomination to replace McClellan.
Sources say that when McClellan wins the special election to go to Congress next month, Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas (D) is expected to call a special election to replace her in the chamber. That will likely set up another quick primary race for Democrats reminiscent of the VA-04 firehouse primary last month.
