ELECTION 2025: Nivar, Schear compete for Democratic nomination in 57th Virginia House District

Democrats Andrew Schear and May Nivar are campaigning to win their party’s nomination in Virginia’s 57th House of Delegates District in a race that will be decided June 17.  

Schear plans to tackle childcare and housing affordability if ultimately elected, while Nivar is focusing her campaign on public safety and improving public school education and infrastructure.

The seat currently is held by first-term Republican David Owen, who is seeking re-election.

Nivar has a significant fundraising advantage, having raised nearly $260,000 to date, while Schear has raised more than $17,000 after announcing his campaign early this year. During the most recent campaign filing period (June 12, 2024 to March 31), more than 500 donors contributed to Nivar’s race, including the House Democratic Caucus and Climate Cabinet. Her top donor was Angela Chiang, a founding member of the Asian & Latino Solidarity Alliance of Central Virginia and former gubernatorial appointee on the Virginia Asian Advisory Board. 

This year, 71 donors have contributed to Schear’s campaign, with five top donations of $1,000 from Mark Boddy, Matthew Brigliadoro, August Noevere, Nan Powell and Arthur Wilson. 

May Nivar

Nivar grew up in low-income housing, running around her family’s Chinese takeout restaurant and language translating behind the counter. As a child of immigrants, she worked to make ends meet. And to put herself through college, she worked at a supermarket where she became a union member. 

Now, she’s seen the challenges that people face and knows what happens when people work hard and work together, and she wants to make a difference in a different way, she said. 

Nivar’s campaign for delegate is focused on the economy, fully funding public schools and reproductive freedom–three priorities she knows first-hand. 

The economy needs to work for everyone, Nivar said. Grocery prices are high and housing is inaccessible. 

To address unaffordable living, Nivar plans to get to the root cause like raising wages, providing tax relief for families, making housing more affordable and investing in career and technical education programs. 

And what’s coming out of the Trump administration is harming everyday lives, she said. One of Nivar’s daughters is a federal law enforcement employee, and Nivar fears the federal worker firing spree. 

“We should be thriving, not surviving,” she said. 

All three of Nivar’s children graduated from public schools, and she’s seen the effect of a quality education. She’s committed to raising teacher pay, addressing teacher shortages, hiring specialist counselors and modernizing school infrastructure and technology. 

Nivar’s also committed to protecting reproductive freedom, including access to abortion, contraception and affordable fertility treatment. 

“Under this relentless attack against reproductive rights, women need to be able to make their own healthcare decisions in consultation with their healthcare providers, not politicians,” Nivar said. 

Nivar noted Republican incumbent David Owen, who voted against protecting abortion access in Virginia. “Unlike him, I will work tirelessly to protect a woman’s right to choose,” she said. 

Nivar also supports access and affordability to mental health resources and public safety and plans to advocate for healthcare coverage protection and fully funding law enforcement. 

She brings fresh thinking and multi-sector experiences to the race. She chose to run as a business leader, community organizer and mom of three children. As an employee at Altria, she’s helped 6,000 employees volunteer in their communities. Nivar also worked closely with former Gov. Ralph Northam as the vice chair and chair of the Virginia Asian Advisory Board. 

Former Gov. Ralph Northam, Rep. Jennifer McClellan, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg and Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim is among the politicians that have endorsed Nivar. Climate Cabinet, Emily’s List and The First Act have also endorsed her, and she was recognized by Moms Demand Action. 

“I really believe that while I’m a first-time candidate, I can hit the ground running on day one,” Nivar said. “I will work with anybody that will actually help our community, help Virginia.” 

Andrew Schear 

As a stay-at-home dad and small business owner, Schear’s campaign is centered on lived experience. 

Childcare, housing and healthcare are unaffordable, Schear said. When he bought his first home in 2021 with his wife, they were competing with a dozen other buyers. Now, the competitive market has cooled off, but interest rates and home prices are rising. 

And when Schear and his wife had their two children, they faced stiff hospital bills and childcare costs. After his wife spent several days in the hospital, they waited for the bill in the mail. They had no idea what the cost would come out to, he said. 

“Fortunately, we were in a position to be able to afford to pay it when it did come. But it was not inexpensive,” he said. 

When it came time for childcare, putting his kids in a daycare program would’ve cost about $30,000 a year, a huge chunk of an average household salary, he said. He chose to stay at home with his kids, working when he could on his small filmmaking business. 

“These are issues that I felt like were not getting enough attention,” Schear said. “I want to offer people a choice in who they want their candidate to be and what issues they want their candidate to be the champion for.” 

If he ultimately wins the seat, Schear plans to tackle housing affordability by supporting legislation to help increase the supply of housing on the market. 

“There are reasons we see the price of housing exploding so much,” Schear said. “There’s been a chronic underbuilding for the past two or three decades, and it’s all coming to a head now.” 

Pushing for legislation to allow accessory dwelling units, like in-law suites, and dense housing units in transit-centered areas can increase the amount of housing available, he said. 

Schear also hopes to replicate successful programs from other states to increase childcare affordability in Virginia. 

And with hospital bills, Schear believes that transparency of medical costs is crucial. 

Protecting reproductive freedom and addressing the climate crisis by introducing more renewable energy resources to reduce carbon emissions are also Schear’s top priorities. 

Prioritizing these goals as a delegate would attract younger families, citizens in their prime working age looking to settle down, to Virginia, he said. 

“They might work as educators, nurses or doctors,” Schear said. “The people that we desperately need to keep Virginia going forward in the right direction.”

He started his small business from the ground up right after college, when unemployment rates were skyrocketing during the 2008 recession, he said. Schear created entry-level jobs for a dozen people, negotiated hundreds of deals with customers and managed a balanced budget–skills that he believes will successfully translate to government work. 

Endorsed by Run For Something and the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund and recognized by Moms Demand Action, Schear pledged to make decisions independent of large companies like Dominion Energy, who have notably contributed to political campaigns across Virginia. 

“As legislators, we need to make decisions for the people that we’re representing,” Schear said. “The decisions that I’m going to be making as delegate will be decisions that are in the best interest of the people I represent.” 

For details about the upcoming primary election, visit the Virginia Department of Elections website.