Ian Lovejoy defeated Democrat Travis Nembhard in a toss-up race for the Virginia House of Delegates.
Lovejoy, a former Manassas councilman, edged out Nembhard, an attorney, in the Manassas-area 22nd District. The Northern Virginia exurb’s decision to send a Republican to Richmond was not enough, however, for the party to retain control of the lower chamber, where Republicans held a slim majority going into Election Day.
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Lovejoy made opposition to sprawling data center development the centerpiece of his campaign — an issue he has been vocal about in the community for years. Northern Virginia is home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers, which are physical buildings that house computer servers and hardware to power internet transactions at companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.
Lovejoy says the need for data centers is clear, but that localities need to be able to write ordinances that help buffer noise and clearly divide residential from industrial.
“I think reasonable people understand we need data centers, and in the right place at the right time they can be a good thing, but … you don’t just go from house to industrial without a lot of buffer,” he said, according to InsideNoVA. “And I think that that’s where we’re running into a roadblock here is that the parcel sizes are often not large enough for an appropriate buffer, and the end result is you’re getting a data center being built essentially in your backyard.”
The Virginia Republican also focused on the cost of living increasing in the district.
Nembhard also ran on controlling data center development and the rising cost of living, but focused most of his attack ads against Lovejoy on abortion.
“Ian Lovejoy would ban abortion in Virginia,” one ad says. “On the City Council, Ian Lovejoy blocked women’s health centers from providing care in Manassas.” Nembhard also said he wants to codify Roe v. Wade.
Lovejoy, however, is supportive of the broader Republican push championed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) to run on a “consensus” 15-week abortion restriction with exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.
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Lovejoy went into Election Day with endorsements from Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares, Virginia Department of Veterans Services Commissioner and unsuccessful 2020 U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Gade, and Prince William County supervisor Yesli Vega, who lost her bid for Congress in 2022.
Nembhard was supported by both U.S. senators from Virginia, Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), as well as Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), and Don Beyer (D-VA), Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign, and several anti-gun organizations.
