In Va.’s House District 22, candidates tackle data centers, rising costs in race for legislature’s future

Data centers and rising energy demands

Both candidates weighed in on data centers, one of the state’s fastest-growing industries, with dozens of the facilities located in their district.

“We’re in a real bind, because this industry has outpaced our regulatory schemes,” said Lovejoy, a small business leader and entrepreneur. “Historically, power infrastructure is socialized and paid for by everybody, but the data centers are the sole cause of this massive increase of power infrastructure need, and so we have to work on legislation that ensures data centers aren’t getting that power infrastructure on the back of your average rate payer.”

Lovejoy said he intends to reintroduce proposals to address the issue by adding clarity to data center siting rules, ensuring they are not built too close to residential areas, forests and historic assets. He’ll also continue to support legislation that helps prevent taxpayers from paying too much for the power-thirsty data centers.

Guzman — who attacked her opponent on receiving donations from utility companies, as reported by the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) — emphasized the need for community input on decisions about data centers and other public projects, and said the centers should be located in industrial areas, and not next to homes and schools.

“As someone who has refused utility company money, I will always put families before corporate interest,” Guzman said. “I’ll push for stricter regulations, environmental safeguards and public hearings so residents have a real voice before projects move forward. Unlike my opponent, I’ve never taken money from utility companies.”

Lovejoy’s campaign said his opponent is “grasping at straws” when claiming he is compromised and is “hypocritical” considering the donations she’s received from organizations that have lobbied against legislative proposals related to data centers.

Guzman’s campaign has financially outperformed her opponent’s, raising over $946,000 compared to Lovejoy’s roughly $537,000 as of Oct. 5, according to VPAP.

Reproductive rights

In the upcoming General Assembly session, lawmakers will vote again on a bill to enshrine abortion protections in the state’s constitution, which successfully passed the legislature earlier this year.

Guzman, a social worker who supports abortion access, is likely to vote yes on the measure that advances other reproductive freedoms, unlike Lovejoy, who supports a 15-week abortion limit with exceptions and voted against the amendment.

“I would happily support that constitutional amendment because abortion rights are human rights, and that no legislator should be involved in a personal medical decision that only belongs to a woman and her doctor,” Guzman said.

Guzman also criticized her opponent for voting against the abortion protection bill.

Lovejoy’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on Guzman’s claims about the reproductive rights amendment. Instead, he publicly questioned her silence on texts by Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney general nominee, in which he talked about a hypothetical scenario where a former Republican Virginia lawmaker and his children would be killed in 2022.

“I call on Elizabeth Guzman to join me and denounce this rhetoric and call for Jay Jones to withdraw from his race for Attorney General,” Lovejoy posted on X, as reported by the Prince William Times.

Broadly, Lovejoy’s Republican colleagues have said that the legislation is too extreme, overrides parental rights and fails to protect the unborn.

Guzman’s campaign declined to comment regarding the text messages.

Cost of living

On lowering the cost of living, Lovejoy supports cutting taxes and reducing government size. Guzman supports targeted tax relief on cars and groceries, while also backing investments in public programs, which may necessitate revenue increases.

“The number one way we can keep money in people’s pockets is how we manage the commonwealth tax scheme,” Lovejoy said, adding that maintaining a strict tax regimen that doesn’t increase the burden on taxpayers can help to make life more affordable for Virginians, including housing.

“There’s a lot of pressure to raise taxes in different parts of our current tax code, and that’s been kept largely at bay because of the governor’s veto pen. So I worry, should we lose that ability, where the tax scheme is going to go.”

Guzman supports increasing the minimum wage and expanding worker protections. Lovejoy has not spoken on wage laws, but has focused on economic growth through deregulation and tax relief during his time in the House.

Diverse needs

Guzman stated if elected to serve the competitive 22nd House District, she will continue to work across party lines and achieve results for her constituents, who represent a range of ethnicities, occupations and political persuasions. She emphasized that she has a proven track record of serving voters with different views than hers in parts of Fauquier and Prince William counties during her six years in the General Assembly, before her previous District 31 was redrawn by the Virginia Supreme Court.

“I represented Prince William and Fauquier County, which was red and rural, and just being the only Democrat in the room when we were having conversations about decisions of how to make life better for residents, never intimidated me,” Guzman said. “I was there to work with Republicans to deliver for my district.”

In 2023, Lovejoy won by nearly five percentage points in the newly drawn House District 22, the same district that favored Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by nearly two percentage points over elected Republican President Donald Trump last November. He said if reelected to his second term, he and his office will continue to support his Northern Virginia constituents and that civility will remain a central goal of his work as a legislator.

“I’ve been very conscientious of realizing that I represent a very split district, and we are responsive to everyone’s complaints, concerns (and) constituent services, equally,” Lovejoy said. “The tone of our campaign is not to vilify an entire political party or people, and I think that’s important and leading in the future.”

The deadline to register to vote, update registration or apply for a ballot to be mailed is on Oct. 24. In-person early voting ends Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 4.