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Democrat incumbent Del. Shelly Simonds won the election for the newly drawn House District 70 Tuesday night, fending off two challengers.

Simonds faced challenges from Libertarian candidate Michael Bartley and Republican Matt Waters for the House of Delegates District 70 seat.

The Associated Press called the race for Simonds at 8:25 p.m. Tuesday. With 89% of the precincts reporting, Simonds held 52.9% of the vote compared to Waters 44% and Bartleys 3.2%.

In 2020, Simonds was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 94. But after redistricting, she ran as the incumbent candidate for District 70, which encompasses swaths of western and northwestern Newport News.

Im thrilled, Simonds said of her victory Tuesday night. Its been the honor of my life to serve. And Im just so happy that I get to continue some of the projects that Ive started. Im excited to continue work to make teaching the best profession in Virginia, to fight human trafficking, to pass a bill to reduce out-of-pocket costs for breast cancer screenings. I am so grateful to the voters for giving me the chance to continue this important work for my community.

Simonds, 56, said previously that if reelected she would push for reform in laws and policies governing railroad safety, human trafficking prevention and environmental justice to to keep our communities safe from crime and toxic chemicals. She said she hopes to pass a railroad safety law requiring trains to have two crew members on board to better address any emergencies on the tracks and has promised to introduce a bill requiring elementary school teachers to receive a 30 minute lunch break.

Challengers Bartley, 45, and Waters, 56, both said issues surrounding education and school policies were of top concern.

When asked what piece of legislation he would most like to see passed in the next General Assembly session, Bartley, the Libertarian, said funding for students instead of schools, such as funding to provide backpacks to K-12 students.

Waters hed like to see vouchers for up to $18,500 per child available so parents can enroll students in the school of their choice.

Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8138, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com.

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Virginia House District 70 winner: Shelly Simonds The Virginian-Pilot - The Virginian-Pilot