HAMPTON, Va. — Election Day in Virginia is less than a month away, and all seats in the Virginia General Assembly are at stake. This is also Virginia’s first election since legislative district maps were redrawn using 2020 census data.
In the new 86th District on the Peninsula, two candidates are facing off for the House of Delegates seat: incumbent Republican Delegate A.C. Cordoza and Democrat Dr. Jarris Taylor Jr. The district encompasses parts of Hampton, York County and all of Poquoson and leans Republican, according to voting records.
Cordoza won the 91st District election in 2021. Previously, he served in the United States Air Force and worked in cybersecurity for Newport News Shipbuilding. During his time in office, Cordoza said he has passed 10 bills.
“I am just a regular Virginian,” Cordoza said. “Just a working-class man who is trying to make Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
Taylor retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2005. He served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force during the Obama Administration. He's also the director of the William R. Harvey Institute at Hampton University.
“The team Taylor theme says it all, service before self,” Taylor said.
Solving and stopping missing persons cases in Hampton Roads is a focus for Cordoza. But, he said his biggest push is cutting costs for Virginians.
“We have to lower the cost of living in Virginia,” Cordoza said. “Lowering taxes, trying to get rid of the gas tax. We have already gotten rid of the grocery tax on the state end. Everything we are doing is trying to lower the burden on the average everyday citizen.”
Taylor said some priorities for his campaign are improving healthcare and safety.
“As I went through the neighborhood knocking on doors, two burning issues that continue to come up when I ask, ‘What can I do? What can we do to make our community safer and better?,’ women’s reproductive rights and gun safety,” he said. “Those are the two resounding issues that are affecting everyone within the district.”
Both veterans hope to represent the 86th District come November 7.
“I am happy and humbled to be a servant of the people and hope they choose me to continue doing it,” Cordoza said.
“I encourage everyone who would like to have a candidate that’s a veteran, that is an educator, that is a leader, to vote for me,” Taylor said.