00:00.70
Sam Shirazi
Hi everyone, I'm Sam Shirazi and this is Federal Fallout the 2025 Virginia elections. This episode we will have our first candidate interview with Democrat Jessica Anderson.
00:13.29
Sam Shirazi
She is running in Virginia's 71st House of Delegates district and that includes Williamsburg and some of the surrounding areas.
00:18.87
Jessica Anderson
So.
00:21.96
Sam Shirazi
In 2023, she ran for this seat and came up short by 667 votes, and which is roughly 1.87%. The current incumbent is Republican Amanda Batten, and this is a district that Vice President Harris carried in 2024, and it is expected to be one of the most competitive districts this year in Virginia.
00:46.83
Sam Shirazi
I'm happy to have any Republican candidates on in the future, including Republican Amanda Batten. But today, Jessica Anderson is joining me. Thank you, Jessica, for joining me.
00:57.58
Jessica Anderson
Yes, thank you for having me.
00:59.28
Sam Shirazi
So I'm just going to ask the question I like to ask all politicians. Why did you want to run for public office?
01:05.92
Jessica Anderson
I'm gonna try to tell it in not a super long-winded way. So, fun fact, I did not grow up political whatsoever. grew up very much in a household. We did not talk politics, religion, or money.
01:15.89
Jessica Anderson
And it wasn't really until I was in adulthood that I started participating in politics politics and elections, and I didn't really have any foundation for that. So, by and large, i I voted on both sides of the political fence most of my adult life up until about 11 years ago.
01:31.43
Jessica Anderson
and I had married very young age 20 actually was in college and dropped out initially, and got married at age 20. And a couple years later started my family and had my first of three girls, did end up getting a business degree a couple years later.
01:44.84
Jessica Anderson
But, Basically, i was in a very super conservative Christian household, married into it, really was kind of exposed to a very different ideology than I grew up in.
01:56.66
Jessica Anderson
And ironically, in the process of going through a pretty difficult divorce 2014 into 2015, really had some kind of really had some kind of you know, learning learning things the hard way kind of situation, come to Jesus moments, shall we say.
02:11.70
Jessica Anderson
And one of the first things was I no longer had a health insurance for myself or my daughters. I was returning to the workforce at the time because I'd been out of work for two weeks as a stay-at-home mom. So navigating social safety nets at the state level for the first time, going from living paycheck to paycheck to not knowing how to make ends meet.
02:29.54
Jessica Anderson
And got EBT and got Medicaid for my children and a limited plan for myself. Fast forward, after returning to the workforce, after a year of working you know full-time regularly, I got a pay raise of $5,000, which I thought was amazing. Like, yay, bettering my situation.
02:46.60
Jessica Anderson
And instantly lost my $7,000 roughly a year in ebt So really harsh introduction to the realities of social safety nets and how they are not built to actually benefit people or help them better their situations.
03:01.03
Jessica Anderson
So that was kind of my first eye-opening experience that started to kind of pivot me away from some of the ideologies that I'd been around for 13 years at the time. And then I met and married my now husband and was in a, for the first time really in my adult life in a very financially secure situation. And after a year of marriage, I kind of came forward and was like hey, I'd really love to take this job at the local public school that my younger daughters were attending at the time in elementary school and to be in the front office. It's part-time, it was huge pay cut. And he was like, let's do it. Like, I think it'll make you happier and give you more opportunity to be at home.
03:33.51
Jessica Anderson
so yet again, another opportunity to kind of but see behind the curtain and, in that instance, and really for where I was working in a school within the city of Williamsburg, which by every people's outside looking in thinks is very wealthy, well to do, was probably one of the most impoverished communities and school in the district. And I saw that firsthand and it was really eyeopening.
03:56.66
Jessica Anderson
disparities that existed in my backyard that I had no idea existed, The unhoused population, the fact that my school had over 50% poverty level, so every student got free lunch and breakfast. And then, of course, that transpired into test scores and you know outcomes for our kids.
04:13.59
Jessica Anderson
So again, just kind of another box that was getting checked in my you know eyes being opened and recognizing, wow, there's really some some issues here. Once COVID hit, I got very engaged online politically, as well as started doing some advocacy around getting people to our school board meetings and trying to be a more loud voice in a room of very loud minority people that were existing at the time.
04:36.86
Jessica Anderson
And, you know, this momentum and my kind of energy around being politically engaged and understanding more and learning about policy and learning about every level of government, how it directly impacts, you know, myself and and my community. 2022, led me to speak with the co-chair of the Historic Triangle Dems, which is our local committee, the second largest in the state, Christine Payne.
04:58.95
Jessica Anderson
And when I really kind of shared what I was most passionate about policy-wise, she was like, you belong in the state house. So i kind of made the decision then and there, like that's what I'm going to do And I registered online almost within the week. And the following year, of course, I ran the election, very grassroots.
05:15.58
Jessica Anderson
But yeah, I've lived in this community for 25 plus years, raised my family here, I have worked in this community since I was 14 years old. Cause I grew up in Newport news and my first real job was Busch gardens, like almost every other teenager in the nineties.
05:27.95
Jessica Anderson
so yeah, this has been a part of my life and history, for pretty much as long back as I can remember. So, and now I get the opportunity to, to run again and and hopefully have a different outcome and be in the room where all the decisions are made and and make a real difference for the community that I want to represent.
05:45.73
Sam Shirazi
Yeah, thanks for that background. You know, I always say, regardless of the party, I always respect people who are willing to run for public office because I know it's a huge sacrifice and it's not easy to do. And we need people to to run for our democracy. So so thanks for giving.
06:00.02
Sam Shirazi
a little bit of background on how you decided to run. I did want to ask you about one issue about the job losses and cuts the federal government, because I think they're often portrayed as a Northern Virginia issue.
06:11.83
Sam Shirazi
How is it affecting some of the things that you're seeing in your area in the greater Hampton Roads area?
06:18.76
Jessica Anderson
I absolutely think it's it's not localized to NOVA. I think across Virginia, we have people scattered because the reality is a lot of people were doing work from home and not just because of COVID. like Like some of our, obviously our federal workforce has been work from home long before COVID became an issue just because it fiscally made more sense and they saw that a higher level of productivity.
06:39.80
Jessica Anderson
So people have always been scattered. I know that there are people in my backyard and in my district that, for example, worked at the Board of Education, Department of Education. And now they no longer have a role. They've been laid off. One of my teachers in my school, actually, her daughter, who was working with NIH and had excellent reviews, was let go arbitrarily and told that it was because of her work your work performance.
07:03.44
Jessica Anderson
She actually was one of the few people that they brought back, but she had already found a private sector job and basically said, no, thanks. I'm not going to be you know back and forth because even when they brought them back, they were saying they were going to continue to be paid without or be paid without working.
07:16.83
Jessica Anderson
So on paid leave. And so, i mean, i'm I'm seeing it in my backyard, absolutely. And I don't think it's going to get any better. I think this is going to be a continued issue, particularly in Virginia. We have a huge level of federal workforce.
07:29.03
Jessica Anderson
And when you impact our federal workforce and cause them to possibly leave the state, that's going to affect our economy, which is going to affect the workforce on other sectors. Like, you know, for example,
07:39.11
Jessica Anderson
the service industry or the port. You know, my husband actually is a merchant marine and and works and has ships that are located over in Newport News and Norfolk area that he manages. So like jobs outside of the federal workforce are going to be impacted when we start talking about the economic hit from that elimination.
07:58.89
Jessica Anderson
I don't think anybody really in the state of Virginia is safe from kind of the retribution of those those moves and those decisions that are being made.
08:07.44
Sam Shirazi
And, you know, what are some of the other issues besides the the cuts of government that voters are talking to you about on the campaign trail?
08:15.92
Jessica Anderson
A few people have talked to me about this, but it's something that I've tried to make a really relevant part of the conversation, the Medicaid expansion. As we know, with the recent vote by the Senate and the House, It's no longer if, it's when we're going to lose Medicaid expansion in the state of Virginia.
08:30.50
Jessica Anderson
Obviously, there's a trigger law that states if 1% of Medicaid is cut at the federal level, it automatically terminates it, which is going to impact 630,000 Virginians.
08:40.79
Jessica Anderson
I've been trying to make that a really relevant part of the conversation for a couple reasons. One, obviously, access to affordable and accessible health care is huge. across the board, but two, that loss would be a huge hit to our healthcare care industry.
08:55.42
Jessica Anderson
We're talking about areas that already have
08:58.10
Sam Shirazi
I did want to shift to a little bit about the campaign itself. you As I mentioned, you first ran in 2023 and came up short, even though I would say it was a closer race than most people expected.
09:02.57
Jessica Anderson
Mm-hmm.
09:10.91
Sam Shirazi
it What did you learn from that race the first time you ran for office that you're going to be applying in this race?
09:17.84
Jessica Anderson
the voter contact is, is key. knocked over 6,300 doors, and it gave me access to a lot of conversations, nuanced conversations, that you can't get from a TV ad or a digital buy.
09:31.73
Jessica Anderson
it's an opportunity to like actually speak to someone one-on-one, even those that maybe don't share my political party per se, and find out what's really most relevant to them when it comes to their, you know, their representation and who's, who's standing up for them in the house.
09:46.24
Jessica Anderson
And a lot of times realizing that the things that I stood for and the policy that I was pushing for was actually something that they didn't realize they supported. i used to have a saying that I'm sure I'll continue saying this year, but I may not be your party, but I might be your person.
10:00.66
Jessica Anderson
I think that was something that was the most telling from my experience is that quite a few people that were like moderate fence setters or even leaning Republican voters in the district actually really liked what I had to say and also were surprised by my opponent's voting record when I started shining some light on some of her votes that she has taken over the last now six years in office.
10:22.98
Sam Shirazi
I did want to ask about the students in your district because your district includes William & Mary in Williamsburg.
10:26.83
Jessica Anderson
Mm hmm.
10:31.29
Jessica Anderson
Thank you.
10:31.34
Sam Shirazi
And as much as students care about politics, they're are not always super engaged and they don't always vote. Although in 2023, I think there was a decent amount of turnout in Williamsburg with the college students there.
10:46.18
Sam Shirazi
you know What's your strategy to reach them and get them engaged in this election?
10:51.34
Jessica Anderson
Absolutely. They were a huge factor last cycle, despite me, again, kind of being kind of an underdog in that realm and not, you know, priority. They are very interested in my race. I've already had a meeting and and introduced myself formally to the newest round of William & Mary Young Democrats. actually was just sitting with them, i think, three weeks ago now at their the weekly meeting.
11:12.32
Jessica Anderson
lot of excitement. Very, all of, everyone was coming up to me and be like, how can we help? We already see some volunteer engagement with the Spanburger Coordinated as well. So we're definitely looking to put out the feelers for interns and fellows to make them feel even more part of the campaign.
11:28.12
Jessica Anderson
But I also, you know, in addition to being present with the William & Mary Dems, we have a local food pantry organization, William & Mary Food for All. I just did a food drive for them, food and food and hygiene drive for them to kind of stock help stock their shelves for finals week.
11:42.65
Jessica Anderson
So I think for them, they want to be seen. i think it's like any constituent, any voter. They want to know that the person that's representing them sees them, sees their needs, wherever they may be, is going to vote in their best interest and just be super present and relevant.
11:57.10
Jessica Anderson
My social media presence actually added an element I noticed last cycle that I did do really well with that Gen Z voter. and And I found that there was a lot of conversations and people that I chatted with from William & Mary that were following my content. and you know And so that was really fun and a nice little kind of thing to to find out along the way.
12:17.15
Sam Shirazi
Yeah, i did want to ask you about your social media, because I think that you use social media in a really unique way, especially tech TikTok, which a lot of politicians are scared to get on them, get on there themselves.
12:28.54
Sam Shirazi
And obviously, social media is generally free to put stuff out there. And I think it's a great way for campaigns to engage with the voters. but What would your tips be for other politicians who are trying to figure out how to use social media to help in their campaigns?
12:44.66
Jessica Anderson
Absolutely. My number one recommendation always is be authentically yourself. I've had so many people both in the political world as well as just like everyday people come up to me and be like, oh, like, do you have a script? And, you know how do you do your talk to camera? And I'm like, I push record.
12:58.90
Jessica Anderson
And they're like, wait, and what? And I'm like, I push record. I'm like, if something's going on, whether it be like national, local, i have a thought about it. I push record. I make a video. I make some maybe edits. I add captions, you know, typically for my other platforms.
13:12.86
Jessica Anderson
But it is just me. It's just me talking to the camera, being authentically me and talking to the issue the way I i see it from my lens. And try to make it very digestible to everyday people. I think politics has become sometimes hard for people to absorb and really want to hear about. So I try to make it as, you know, short form video and and as easy to understand as possible. but I will say with...
13:36.92
Jessica Anderson
My campaign, something that I really saw at the door specifically was I would knock on a door and people be like, oh my gosh, someone sent me me your video. They were telling me you were running. i feel like already know you. So that was a really cool thing that I think adds to the element of running for office.
13:51.57
Jessica Anderson
The other thing that I did, and i and I tell candidates that are listening to do it too, I am very present and active on both Facebook, like Facebook local groups, as well as next door.
14:02.84
Jessica Anderson
And those are places where you can have conversations with people that absolutely do not disagree with or agree with you at all. Be super civil. Obviously everything you say is under a micro microscope as someone who's running for office. I'm all too familiar with that and had,
14:15.55
Jessica Anderson
things clipped in the past. but like just that those direct engagements, people that literally cannot stand you as a, as like your political party and what you probably stand for will, will still say, i got to give it to her. She's at least having the conversation. And I had people say that to me. So, I think kind of, you know, utilizing those, those free avenues to reach voters and, and, and that's an additional touch at the end of the day.
14:40.62
Jessica Anderson
I think social media has a real, relevance in campaigns that I think some people are tapping into and some people aren't.
14:48.18
Sam Shirazi
Yeah, I mean, I think after the last election, Democrats realized they need to have a little bit of a different social media strategy. And I think your campaigns or have been examples of maybe how to engage social media in a positive way to kind of get some engagement.
15:04.20
Sam Shirazi
I did want to talk about... the Williamsburg area. I recently visited and it's a beautiful part of Virginia. And I wanted to kind of get your sense of some of the issues there.
15:17.34
Sam Shirazi
You mentioned there's a sense of Williamsburg is pretty well off, but I think under the surface, there might be some more problems in terms of people trying to make ends meet. And then also the other thing I found interesting about the area is relatively like a fifty fifty political area. It's pretty...
15:33.38
Sam Shirazi
yeah Obviously, they' are blue pockets, red pockets, but overall, the area is 50-50, and obviously, your district is close to 50-50. So if you could just talk a little bit about your district, I'd like to get your perspective on it.
15:43.62
Jessica Anderson
Yeah, I mean, it's it's definitely diverse. And I think there's this quality. that Some people from the outside, especially in 2023, did not see it that way. so obviously, when you're in parts of New Kent, that is a little more on the red side. However, it's also the fastest growing county in the state.
15:57.63
Jessica Anderson
It has a lot of people that are kind of coming in that are younger families, that are people moving in from the north, people that are working in Richmond, but want to live a little bit more of a quiet suburban area. so this past election cycle, we watched 900 new democratic voters sprout up out there.
16:12.34
Jessica Anderson
and then, you know, James city County is definitely kind of almost like on a scale. So if you're closer to the city of Williamsburg, you see a bluer pocket. If you move a little further towards New Kent, you see a redder pocket, namely Stonehouse district. That is, you know, but what's interesting is this past election, as we saw every single,
16:29.98
Jessica Anderson
precinct within the district went to Harris. Now, there was individual like Stonehouse A, and like I think there was one or two individual precincts within those precincts that did not.
16:39.84
Jessica Anderson
but But overall, we saw a shift. And I think that that's something that's just been happening over the last few years. I think it's a combination of, again, people moving in from either Northern states or Nova and retiring or coming here to just, you know, be in a slightly warmer climate, but not heading all the way down South. Yeah.
17:00.08
Jessica Anderson
you know In Williamsburg, I did highlight this, in the actual city proper, so Colonial Williamsburg, kind of what you envision, it is a more wealthy, higher-end community where the houses are very expensive, but literally just outside on the outskirts, so literally across the train tracks or just on the outskirts of the city lines where there's really no crosswalks connecting you to the Colonial Williamsburg, we have apartment complexes, Merrimack Trail, we have Highland Park,
17:26.42
Jessica Anderson
We have Mimosa Lane, like all of these kind of neighborhoods that are kind of tucked away almost in the woods and out of view and out of sight of the city itself that are part of the city and many of which are considered low income subsidized federal housing where we get federal funding. So there is this element that people do not know what the district actually looks like.
17:48.63
Jessica Anderson
and that there's opportunity there. I think I did a really good job of getting some of those low propensity voters out in 2023. We had some high voter turnout in our area. And I think that the, the excitement and opportunity is even better this year, which is what I think is going to make the difference.
18:04.35
Jessica Anderson
I think the other two is, and this is something that i try to do really well, k through 12 affects everybody. And it's making it relevant to that person. So obviously, my low income families that are are families that do have students that are attending our public education system, that's our only outlet for education, making sure that I'm talking to them about keeping our schools fully funded, making sure the resources remain and become even more strengthened, you know advocating for free free meals across the table for all of our school division within our school divisions, things like that, that's really relative in.
18:33.55
Jessica Anderson
But when I go into Colonial Heritage, the retirement community in Stonehouse District of of, you know, upper James City County, it's relevant to them, too. And the reason being is if our schools are losing accreditation or not putting out a high quality of good test grades and and quality students with good outcomes, that's eventually going to impact their property value.
18:53.11
Jessica Anderson
That's eventually going to impact the economy as a whole. That's eventually going to impact people moving in here to start their businesses and continue to grow their families here. And so kind of making that correlation, i think, has been the most prominent thing for me when it comes to making...
19:08.02
Jessica Anderson
One issue relevant to two sides of the coin, shall we say. And it's right. And it's resonated. And I think that comes into play with any issue, health care, housing, affordability, you know, having that conversation and making it super relevant to everybody is going to be impacted, whether you realize it or not.
19:24.42
Sam Shirazi
it sounds like you are starting to have some of the issues that you're thinking about for next year. So I'm going to move on from the campaign to what might happen if you're elected.
19:34.50
Sam Shirazi
So let's assume there November comes around and you are elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.
19:37.11
Jessica Anderson
Sorry.
19:40.81
Sam Shirazi
You get sworn in in January. What would be some of your priorities as a new delegate?
19:46.13
Jessica Anderson
I mean, top tier priorities is obviously getting these three constitutional amendments to the finish line. I think it's critical to have those on the ballot in 2026 so that the people can actually speak and say what they want to have in the Virginia Constitution. So that's top front frontier.
20:00.01
Jessica Anderson
Obviously, getting some of these other bills that have historically been vetoed under this current administration, even though we've had a Democratic majority the last two years. So contraception protection, some of these safe, you know, safe storage gun bills and other gun advocacy bills that we've put forth. And honestly, I want to have a real conversation about the budget and specifically the tax code that exists.
20:23.56
Jessica Anderson
The reality is we do see the writing on the wall with Medicaid expansion being terminated. There are other federal programs that could be taking a hit that are going to harm our community and our state and Virginians.
20:34.58
Jessica Anderson
So having a legitimate conversation in this in the House of Delegates, as well as in the Senate, about the fact that we need to have reoccurring funding coming in in our budget to make sure that we do have the guardrails to protect Virginians and protect these programs that are detrimental.
20:52.10
Jessica Anderson
And so, you know, I look at states like Massachusetts that institute a millionaire's tax, and now they have a universal health care system that incorporates ACA, Medicaid, as well as their state funded, and they've brought their uninsured rate down to 2.3%.
21:05.38
Jessica Anderson
Like these are some real conversations that I think we need to be having. i would love to see, you know, obviously collective bargaining, you know, for public servants or public workers, you know, actually go across the finish line, take some of these stipulations out.
21:18.33
Jessica Anderson
And then of course, funding our our K through 12 fully and also expanding access to early childhood education. Because if we are not giving them a foundation, we are not creating a society where we're going to have flourishing individuals contributing back to Virginia and our economy.
21:33.20
Jessica Anderson
So I think those are some of a handful. i I have so many ideas that I'm very excited to get in there, but those are probably some of the things that kind of weigh on my mind and and what I'm having conversations about right now.
21:43.87
Sam Shirazi
And if you do get elected, you have a sense of how long you want to be doing this? Is this something where you want to, you know, contribute and make a difference for a few years? Or is this something that you see long term, you want to keep engaged in elected office and either at the House of Delegates or another level continue serving?
22:06.42
Jessica Anderson
um quite I do see myself pursuing in an elective position for probably a while, maybe not necessarily in the House of Delegates indefinitely, but, you know, I do have some aspirations to to do more.
22:20.26
Jessica Anderson
I think in this era and this timeframe, when I kind of look at what's happening at the national level, I think state is so critical. I think local and state is really discarded way too often.
22:32.18
Jessica Anderson
know look at what Spanberger did where she served in Congress and kind of taking that role and stepping back and and running for governor. I think it speaks to what's happening right now and the fact that there is this very high intense need to make sure that we're protecting our state's As much as possible, like having a sound AG at the level, for example, who's not writing letters to Costco, but is instead filing actual lawsuits against the currentl federal administration that is doing unlawful things that are going to affect Virginians. So, you know, I think that that right now protecting the state level is critical. but
23:05.42
Jessica Anderson
But I will not count out something beyond that in my future. i do have young kids at home still, so I would like to get them in and out of school, which means I have at least another six years before my youngest graduates high school. But yeah, I mean, i i see something beyond this that is also an elected position.
23:24.01
Sam Shirazi
Well, I'll ask you one last question, because I also have young kids.
23:27.42
Jessica Anderson
and
23:27.72
Sam Shirazi
How do you balance it all? Because I think that's one of the things that I hear a lot from people who are interested in getting in politics, either running for office or at least just helping out more, that it's just difficult with family and work and everything. you know How do you make it all work for you?
23:42.81
Jessica Anderson
Yeah, it I will not lie. you can The phrase you can have it all is a lie. Anybody that says it is not telling the truth. It's a balance and it's absolutely about having a support system. i have an incredibly supportive husband who has stepped up on so many fronts you know in the last cycle. And I'm sure this cycle, you know my daughters are older. They are very self-sufficient. My oldest is graduating in college May 10th. In fact, super exciting.
24:08.52
Jessica Anderson
And then my middle daughter is a junior, so she'll be a senior before I even can blink an eye. And my youngest is in seventh grade currently. So I do have a little more freedom, but, you know, it's it's finding those times throughout the week to block off, to make sure that I am making some quality family time. Yesterday, for example, was a full kind of family day and and just, you know,
24:29.80
Jessica Anderson
no campaigning. So just fitting that in, i am very present in my community and I'm grateful that a lot of the things that I try to prioritize at our community events are things that my kids and my husband can be a part of by and large. So yeah,
24:43.38
Jessica Anderson
even when I'm campaigning, they can still be a part of that process. And it's something that I probably would have gone to even if I wasn't campaigning. So it doesn't feel too, you know, out of the pocket to do.
24:55.02
Jessica Anderson
But yeah, it's really about finding balance. And I think a support system, like at the end of the day, if you don't have people in your corner that truly you can like try to scream to vent to and just lift you up when you really need it.
25:07.62
Jessica Anderson
I don't think you can do that without that, do this without that.
25:11.16
Sam Shirazi
Well, I appreciate you taking the time to come on and talk to us. I think it's always helpful for people to learn more about politicians on either side and to hear directly from them. So I appreciate your time. i will ask you one last question, which is where can people learn more about you if they're interested?
25:28.15
Jessica Anderson
Yeah, if you, super easy website. So it's jess4va.com. But all the things you need to know about me from issues and just kind of, you know, kind of my brief synopsis of how I got here is all there.
25:42.31
Sam Shirazi
All right. Well, thank you so much, Jessica Anderson. i'm sure we'll keep an eye on things in the 71st district on the campaign trail. And thank you again for coming on.
25:51.77
Jessica Anderson
Yes, thanks for having me.
25:53.38
Sam Shirazi
And this was Federal Fallout, and I hope you'll join me next week.
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