ELECTION 2025: McQuinn, Atkins seek Democratic nomination in Virginia's 81st House District

Democrat and Henrico County School Board member Alicia Atkins will contest longtime Virginia Delegate Delores McQuinn in a party primary election June 17 for the right to seek Virginia’s 81st House of Delegates District seat in the November general election.

Atkins' campaign focuses on environmental sustainability and empowerment, while McQuinn’s campaign is centered on healthcare and culture.

McQuinn has served as a delegate since 2009, first representing the 70th District through 2023, and for the past 18 months the 81st District, following statewide redistricting efforts that shifted the boundaries and numbers of many districts. She is leading in campaign donations with more than $160,000 raised to date. During the most recent campaign filing period (Jan. 1, 2024-March 31), 77 donors contributed to her campaign, with Dominion Energy donating nearly $130,000 as the top donor.

Atkins has raised more than $3,000 since 2024, with former Virginia Sen. Joe Morrissey contributing the top donation of $500. Her campaign has only received donations from three other people – Kelly Atkins, Melissa Dart and Atkins herself.

Delores McQuinn

McQuinn has held the 81st delegate chair for 16 years, and she’s running again to continue the work that’s not finished.

McQuinn’s campaign is focused on her veteran experience as delegate. Her top three priorities are education, healthcare and culture.

McQuinn is focused on all levels of education, especially with the Trump administration’s threat of dismantling the Department of Education, she said. Her campaign on education is specifically focused on providing elementary opportunities for three- and four-year olds.

“There’s always the educational system and trying to make certain that our young people have every opportunity to grow up and be productive citizens in our society,” McQuinn said.

The Trump administration also is threatening Medicaid and Medicare, she said. McQuinn plans to specifically focus on where the funding is to close gaps in healthcare access that many in the district are still facing.

When it comes to culture, McQuinn has spent her delegacy in solidifying the recognition of African American history in her communities. She currently serves as the vice chair of the General Assembly’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission, which promotes the King’s legacy through educational, historical and cultural programs.

Just recently, McQuinn secured $200,000 to support African American families uprooted by colleges and universities, she said.

And even though McQuinn’s top campaign donor is Dominion Energy, she said she’s committed to environmental sustainability.

“I have never, ever and will never allow anyone to influence how I’m doing the right thing, doing what’s right on behalf of the citizens,” she said. “That is not who I am. I’ve always had my own mind in terms of providing services.”

McQuinn also plans to continue previous work on restoring voter rights, the housing crisis, unemployment and more recently, immigration.

McQuinn is actively in conversation to address immigrant concerns in her district and across Virginia.

“We need to make certain that people’s constitutional rights are fair and that there is a process,” she said. “We’ve seen the way people have been treated. And I detest that.”

McQuinn has the experience and the connections, she said, to continue serving her district well. With the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, she said she has the contact and support to address the issues that are affecting the community.

“I’m in a position to help continue to bring changes and to advocate. People will be listening to me. And I’ve got my record that speaks for itself,” she said.

Alicia Atkins

Atkins has walked through school hallways with grieving students, sat with mothers crying at the kitchen table and stood in community meetings with people in pain. For two years, she said, colleagues have asked her to run. Now, she’s ready.

“I spent about two decades in healthcare and years on the front lines for public education, in the shadows of bureaucracy,” she said. “I know the cost of inaction, and I’ve really felt the weight of broken systems. I refuse to accept that this is the best we can do, so I decided to step up.”

Atkins has deep roots in Henrico County. Born in Richmond, she was the first Black woman elected to the school board in 2019 and unanimously was elected chair in 2024.

Her top priorities are environmental sustainability, education and empowerment.

The 81st has been treated as a sacrifice zone, Atkins said. Even when legislation like the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act exists to protect air, water and land, the community is a dumping ground for polluters, infrastructure is forgotten about and opportunity is overlooked.

“Without courageous leadership to enforce them, we will continue to get poisoned promises,” Atkins said. “I do not believe that we should have to live knowing that our children may be breathing in toxins or drinking polluted water.”

And the district is still in an educational crisis, she said. In conversations with educators and legislators, money is always at the top of people’s minds. But the education crisis can’t be solved solely with money, she said. Atkins believes that people, love, care and intention should be at the center of fortifying education.

Atkins plans to support efforts to show educators more respect and support with higher pay and comprehensive training. The school board requests money for educator bonuses;sometimes they are approved, other times (like this year) they are denied. But the process is slow, she said. Revising the financial structure of the school board can ensure that the money that flows through will flow quickly.

Students also need empowerment – to be seen and heard, Atkins said.

“We want them to see themselves in the curriculum. They should not see themselves as a footnote.”

People often ask Atkins what she means by empowerment, she said; to her, it encompasses wellness, dignity, leadership and accountability.

After working in healthcare, she knows that families with Medicaid still can’t find providers and that maternal mortality rates keep rising for Black women. And as a community member, she believes that LGBTQ rights, veteran benefits and homeless people need protection.

Before Atkins served as chair on the school board, she was a legislative advocate. She’s done discussing the same issues that she pleaded for more than 10 years ago.

“I really want to be a champion for alternative pathways,” Atkins said.

She has already written six policies, two of which she plans to walk through the General Assembly doors with.

One policy, the Virginia School Resilience and Recovery Fund, focuses on school buildings as emergency shelters. The policy would provide an emergency fund that can be swiftly accessed and revamping school buildings so they are equipped to serve as a shelter.

The second policy Atkins has written is the Safe Futures Act. Just three months ago, Atkins lost her nephew to gun violence. The act would fund community-led prevention funds specific to communities facing high rates of youth violence and implement student safety councils in schools.

Richmond for All has endorsed Atkins, and she was recognized by Moms Demand Action.

“I continue to speak truth to power, even when it isn’t popular or supported by elected officials,” Atkins said. “We are really living in a different moment now, and I think that’s one that demands a new kind of leadership.”