Democrats are sounding confident their candidate --and their money -- will flip Republican Amanda Batten’s House of Delegates seat in the 71st District this November.
Newcomer Jessica Anderson said she “was really kind of an afterthought” for Democrats when she first challenged Batten. But to the experts’ surprise, she came within 667 votes of winning in 2023.
This time around, the part-time secretary at a local elementary school said she is “one of the top races” Democrats believe they can win. She said she is working to raise $400,000 from her supporters, plus a matching donation from the Democratic caucus.
Anderson said she raised most of the $200,000 for her last campaign herself.
“When you are a challenger like that, you don’t get a lot of institutional money, you don’t get the corporate money, the (political action committee) money,” said Jennifer Tierney, chair of the Historic Triangle Democrats.
This year, only Virginia and New Jersey have regular statewide elections in November, T…