Old Dominion News

The vice president of CatholicVote said parents should make “parental rights their main concern” in the Jan. 7 special elections in the 32nd State Senate and 26th House of Delegates districts. 

“We need parents to stand up again and make their voices heard right now in these important special elections,” said CatholicVote VP Josh Mercer. “In many ways the resurgence of parental rights started in northern Virginia when moms and dads stood up against radical gender ideology and the attacks on merit-based schools.”

“We need them to stand up and make their voices heard again,” Mercer said. 

The special elections are being held to fill vacancies in the 32nd Senate District and the 26th House of Delegates District. These vacancies arose after Senators Suhas Subramanyam and John McGuire were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Delegate Kannan Srinivasan resigned to run for the 32nd Senate District seat, reported WUSA9.

In the 32nd Senate District, Democratic nominee Kannan Srinivasan will face Republican nominee Tumay Harding. 

Mercer said Srinivasan previously voted against legislation that would have required schools to notify parents within a 24-hour period of a child’s overdose. 

“The legislation to require schools to notify parents within 24 hours of school-connected overdoses was introduced because late last year, several Park View High School students overdosed, many of them involving fentanyl,” reports local 7News. “Loudoun County Public Schools failed to tell parents about the string of overdoses for weeks.”

Republican candidate Tumay said she “is running for Virginia State Senate to fight for children and parents in Richmond.” According to her website, “She believes that academic excellence and our children’s safety must once again be our top priorities.” 

For the 26th House District, Democratic nominee JJ Singh will run against Republican nominee Ram Venkatachalam. 

The elections could determine the majority in the legislature, which is currently Democrat-controlled, and come as the legislature is “poised to consider a constitutional amendment that would codify access to abortion,” wrote Politico reporter Madison Fernandez. 

Democrats hold a 21-19 majority in the Senate and a 51-49 majority in the House. 

“The measure needs to pass through the legislature in two consecutive sessions before it could be placed on the ballot, at the earliest in 2026,” Fernandez wrote. 

Early voting for these elections began on December 11, 2024, and continues through January 4, 2025. Residents can request a mail-in absentee ballot until December 27, 2024, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

CatholicVote is a nonprofit advocacy organization that engages in political and cultural issues from a Catholic perspective. Founded in 2008, it focuses on promoting Catholic teachings in public policy, including issues related to religious liberty, pro-life advocacy, and family values.