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Prof. Sally Hudson challenges David Toscano for House of Delegates seat

The Batten professor is the co-founder of FairVote Virginia, which advocates for ranked-choice voting

Asst. Prof. Sally Hudson declared her candidacy to primary Del. David Toscano Tuesday evening.
Asst. Prof. Sally Hudson declared her candidacy to primary Del. David Toscano Tuesday evening.

Sally Hudson, an assistant professor of public policy, education and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, announced her Democratic candidacy Tuesday evening on Twitter for Charlottesville’s seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, challenging in a primary Democratic incumbent Del. David Toscano. 

The heavily-Democratic district voted overwhelmingly for Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam in 2017 and for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Toscano was challenged in 2017 by then-U.Va. graduate student Ross Mittiga. Mittiga lost in the primary by 33 points, and Toscano won unopposed in the general election. No Republican has presently declared candidacy to challenge Toscano in the general election.

In the tweet, Hudson thanked Toscano — who recently retired as the minority leader in the House of Delegates, but has retained the seat he’s held since 2005 — for his service, but said she hopes to be more progressive.

“I think Charlottesville is ready for new leadership, and Charlottesville is ready to lead,” Hudson said. “We’re one of the strongest Democratic districts in Virginia. We should be setting the agenda. We should be setting the bar.”

Hudson co-founded FairVote Virginia — which advocates for ranked choice voting — in 2017, and has worked with progressive groups like Indivisible Charlottesville, Women of the Fifth and OneVirginia2021.

Toscano could not immediately be reached for comment.

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