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Michele Joyce of Isle of Wight County seeks to represent Franklin in Virginia’s House of Delegates.

Joyce had run as a Democrat against Del. Emily Brewer in 2019 for her 64th District seat. Brewer won with just over 60% of the vote in the strong Republican district, which at the time included part of Suffolk and all of Isle of Wight, Surry and Prince George counties.

Virginia’s Supreme Court has since adopted new redistricting maps based on the 2020 Census, which now groups Franklin with parts of Isle of Wight and Suffolk into the newly created 84th House of Delegates district Joyce seeks to represent.

The 84th is expected to swing five to 20 percentage points in favor of Democratic candidates based on an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project based on its share of the votes cast in the 2016 presidential election.

It was formed from parts of the former 64th, 75th and 76th districts, the latter two currently held by Dels. Otto Wachsmann, R-Sussex, and Clint Jenkins, D-Suffolk. Wachsmann now resides in the 83rd District, which encompasses Southampton County and much of the same territory as the former 75th. Brewer and Jenkins have each announced their candidacy to run for the newly created 17th District state Senate seat, leaving the 84th District House seat open for prospective first-time legislators.

“As a longtime resident of Isle of Wight County who’s advocated for affordable health care, I was immediately thrilled when I saw the makeup of the new 84th district,” Joyce said in her May 9 press release. “Residents are finally positioned to have the representation in Richmond that they have long deserved.”