Republican incumbent Siobhan Dunnavant wins Senate District 12 race
Katie Hollowell, Contributing Writer
Republican Incumbent Siobhan Dunnavant won the state Senate seat in District 12 over Del. Debra Rodman.
Dunnavant currently serves on the Senate Finance subcommittee and works as an OB-GYN in Henrico. According to her website, she is a free market and limited-government conservative. In 2018, she was awarded Senate Legislature of the Year by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m so thankful that the 12th District is giving me another four years to get the work done. I will keep delivering results for the 12th District and all of Virginia,” Dunnavant said. “It’s a little hard to be overzealous tonight. We have a lot of fellow Republicans that didn’t succeed.”
Dunnavant won 50.8% of the district, and Rodman received votes from 48.5%.
Rodman, who currently serves in House District 73, campaigned on gun violence prevention, including background checks, higher teacher pay and paid family and medical leave for Virginians. As a member of the House’s Agriculture Committee, Rodman’s website says she advocates for cleaner energy sources. She teaches anthropology at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, or VPAP, Rodman and Dunnavant have each raised more than $2 million. Before Oct. 24, Dunnavant raised $2,531,059 and Rodman raised $2,764,712.
Dunnavant spent more than a $1 million on media advertising and Rodman used just under $965,000.
District 12 has historically been conservative with Dunnavant winning in 2015, and Walter Stosch holding the seat between 1999 and 2015. Henrico County covers 92.44% of the district and Hanover County covers 7.56%.
VPAP considers the district to be competitive, but in recent years it has leaned Democratic, electing U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine in 2018 and Gov. Ralph Northam in 2017.
When the district was redrawn in 2011, it leaned Republican with 67.8%, and Democrats made up 32.6%.
Capital News Service reporter Jaclyn Barton contributed to this report.
