Virginia's 86th House of Delegates district

Virginia's 86th House of Delegates district elects one of 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, the lower house of the state's bicameral legislature. The district was established in 1982 and represents parts of Loudoun and Fairfax County. It is represented by Democrat Ibraheem Samirah.

Geography

The district includes an eastern portion of Loudoun County and a western part of Fairfax County.[1] Loudoun's section includes two precincts, both in Sterling Park, while 13 of the district's precincts are in Fairfax County, including in Herndon, Oak Hill and Chantilly.[1] This area is roughly between Route 50 north, Route 7, and Fairfax County Parkway.[1]

Electoral history

From 2002 to 2016, the 86th District was represented by Republican Tom Rust. In 2013, he was challenged by Democrat Jennifer Boysko, with Rust narrowly prevailing, winning by just 32 votes.[2] Boysko ran again in the next cycle (2015) and Rust announced he would retire rather than seek reelection.[2] Boysko instead faced Republican Raul “Danny” Vargas and Paul Brubaker, who ran as an independent.[1] Vargas received The Washington Post's endorsement[3] and initially had support from the Latino Victory Fund, but the latter rescinded its support after learning Vargas did not support an Obama Administration immigration policy offering protection from deportation and temporary work permits to some parents of American citizens (DAPA).[4] Boysko, a pro-choice candidate who supported the Medicaid expansion,[1] won the election, receiving 54% of the vote to Vargas's 40%.[5]

The 86th district seat was vacated again when Boysko was elected to the state senate in January 2019.[6] prompting a February 19 special election.[7] Dentist Ibraheem Samirah won the Democratic nomination in a firehouse primary on January 12,[8] and U.S. Air Force veteran Gregg Nelson received the Republican nomination in a mass meeting held January 22.[7] On January 25, former Herndon town council member Connie H. Hutchinson announced her candidacy as an independent, citing her opposition to a bill to lift restriction on abortion as well as concerns about proposals to raise the minimum wage.[9] Samirah won the contest with 59.5% of the vote and was sworn in the next day,[10] becoming the youngest member of the state legislature.[11]

District officeholders
Years Delegate Party Electoral history
January 12, 1983
–
September 30, 1997		 George Heilig Democratic First elected in 1982

Died
January 1998
–
January 9, 2002		 Donald L. Williams Democratic First elected in 1997

Retired
January 9, 2002
–
January 13, 2016		 Tom Rust Republican First elected in 2001

Retired
January 13, 2016
–
January 11, 2019		 Jennifer Boysko Democratic First elected in 2015

Elected State Senator on January 8, 2019
February 20, 2019
–
present		 Ibraheem Samirah Democratic Elected in February 19, 2019 special election

References
  1. Baratko, Trevor (October 8, 2015). "Boysko, Vargas dueling to replace Tom Rust in Va. House's 86th District". Loudoun Times. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  2. Portnoy, Jenna (February 25, 2015). "Herndon delegate announces retirement amid tough reelection bid". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  3. "For Virginia's House of Delegates, continued". The Washington Post. October 23, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  4. Gamboa, Suzanne (September 14, 2015). "Democrat-Founded Latino Group Regrets Hosting Fundraiser for Republican". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  5. "Election brings few changes to Va. legislature; huge shifts to Loudoun Co". WTOP. 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  6. "Northern Virginia voters pick Democrat Jennifer Boysko as new state senator". Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 8, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  7. Cline, Nathaniel. "Gregg Nelson wins Republican primary to replace Boysko in Virginia House of Delegates". Loudoun Times. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  8. Cline, Nathaniel (January 12, 2019). "Samirah wins Democratic nomination for 86th House of Delegates District special election". Loudoun Times. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  9. Woolsey, Angela (February 8, 2019). "Independent candidate enters 86th House District race". Fairfax County Times. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  10. "Samirah Wins 86th District Seat". Loudoun Now. 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  11. Hood, James R. (2019-02-20). "Samirah sworn in as youngest member of House of Delegates". Fairfax News. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
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