Tim Anderson, a prominent Virginia Beach lawyer and Republican candidate running for the Virginia House of Delegates District 97, said the election for Virginia’s 97th House District is very likely to determine control of the House of Delegates.
Anderson, who formerly represented District 83 in the House of Delegates before stepping back when his seat was redistricted, is running against incumbent Democrat Michael Feggans.
On Wednesday’s edition of The John Fredericks Show, Anderson said, “This is the number one vulnerable seat for the Democrats, and it’s the number one chance Republicans have to pick up a very important seat which could decide who has the majority in the House.”
The newly drawn district, which covers central Virginia Beach, is one of the few remaining true swing districts in Virginia, Anderson explained. He described the political landscape as a near-even split—about 35 percent Republican, 35 percent Democrat, and 30 percent independent voters who swing based on the candidate rather than the party.
Anderson cited local examples of ticket-splitting, such as voters supporting both Republican Mayor Bobby Dyer and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, as evidence that the district favors well-known candidates with independent reputations.
“People in Virginia Beach cross vote, they split their ballot. They’ll vote for Abigail Spanberger, and they’re going to vote for me,” he said.
Anderson is banking on his public profile as a local attorney and former delegate to win over voters, saying he is well known throughout the district for taking on high-profile legal cases, including his current representation of Virginia Beach school teachers in a dispute over health insurance.
Anderson said he’s viewed as someone who fights for people when the government “screws them over,” and believes that image resonates with swing voters.
“I’m unique in Virginia Beach. I’m a lawyer, I take on a lot of high publicity cases and people know me from my law practice. I’m always in the center of some kind of controversy where the government’s screwing people over…People know that about me here, and that helps out a lot when it comes to name identification because I think what the reputation I have in this town is, you may not like my politics, but you know that when the government’s doing something wrong, I’m usually on the other side of that, trying to stop them,” Anderson said.
“I think when people are looking at who they want to represent them in Richmond, while they may not agree a hundred percent on everything, I think politically they know that at the end of the day, I’m pretty anti-government and pro-people. I think that’s who they’re going to want representing them,” he added.
Anderson said his Democratic opponent Michael Feggans has kept a low profile on the campaign trail, going on to claim Feggans has refused to debate him and has spent much of his time fundraising out of state, possibly preparing for a future congressional run.
“I’ve been asking for a debate since January. He’s refusing to be in the same room with me…He’s nowhere to be found. He’s in California raising money. He’s getting ready to run for Congress next year against Jen Kiggans,” Anderson said.
Anderson went on to position himself on a slate of “80/20” issues he said he believes command broad support across party lines, such as backing eliminating the car tax using surplus funds, ending taxes on military retirement income, and legalizing psilocybin mushrooms for medical treatment of PTSD—especially for veterans.
On abortion, Anderson said he’s taken a more moderate stance than many Republicans, saying he doesn’t plan to alter current laws.
“I’ve said all along, I’m not going to mess with abortion. And so they can’t hit me on abortion like they’ve hit Republicans in the past. I’m leaving abortion alone. What the laws are, the laws are. There’s too many other things to worry about than trying to fight losing battles on abortion,” Anderson said.
Concerning biological males participating in girls’ sports, Anderson said he supports creating private bathroom and sporting options for transgender students, arguing for fairness to both sides, but emphasized, “We are not letting a biological boy compete with girls.”
On immigration, he expressed strong support for ICE enforcement, especially in cases where illegal aliens commit crimes.
“I’m a hundred percent in favor of ICE enforcing the law…If somebody comes down here and they commit a crime and they’re in jail, why shouldn’t ICE be allowed to go pick them up and deport them? I mean, that’s just insane to say otherwise,” Anderson said.
Early voting for Virginia’s general election runs through November 1.
The John Fredericks Show [Live Radio & TV] October 1, 2025 https://t.co/sJqZ82jd6L
— John Fredericks (@jfradioshow) October 1, 2025
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Tim Anderson” by Tim Anderson. Background Photo “Virginia Capitol” by Doug Kerr. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Editor’s Note: John Fredericks is the Publisher of The Virginia Star.
