Meet the pro-union Chesapeake progressive running in a Republican district

Democrat Rodney Nickens Jr. says Virginia’s “right-to-work” law has got to go as he campaigns in a conservative House of Delegates district.

A Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates running in a Republican district is making support for unions part of his pitch to voters. 

Rodney Nickens Jr. is the Democratic challenger up against Republican incumbent Del. Jay Leftwich to represent House District 90 in Chesapeake, a district Leftwich won by more than 26 percentage points in 2023. 

As part of his pitch to voters, Nickens, a Chesapeake native whose father was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, is touting his support for unions and for repealing Virginia’s “right-to-work” law. He also backs raising the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour and is open to going higher. 

Nickens says unions have been critical in expanding workers’ rights and holding corporations accountable. He said lawmakers should be strengthening the labor movement and encouraging workers to organize for a fairer economy. 

“I believe that all workers deserve dignity, that work is dignified, and that workers should be respected and not exploited,” Nickens said in an interview with Dogwood. “We know that historically, ‘right-to-work’ laws were used to break up unions and to discourage workers from unionizing.”

According to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, union membership and wages declined in five states that adopted “right-to-work” laws between 2011 and 2017.

Nickens, who currently runs a political consulting firm, said Virginia has a legal regime that is disproportionately set up to favor big corporations that spend lots of money on politics. He wants to see less corporate influence on politics and more space for the voices of everyday people. Nickens is endorsed by Clean Virginia, a political advocacy group that funds candidates who promise not to take money from Dominion Energy. 

“We must have a politics that is about workers and not about profits,” Nickens said. “More importantly, we must shed a light on the role of dark money and these corporate interests that are working overtime to steal our democracy from us.”

As of June 30, Nickens has raised $7,385 for his campaign, compared with $238,981 raised by Leftwich, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

While some view House District 90 as safely Republican, Nickens believes it has more Democratic support than recent election results suggest. Nickens acknowledged that President Donald Trump won the district in the last election, but believes that’s due less to an inherent conservatism than low turnout (less than half of registered voters in the district voted in 2023) and many eligible but unregistered voters in the district. 

Nickens argues that turning out these voters is the path to victory, and doing so requires offering them something to believe in and be excited about.

“I believe that we have a country, particularly in the South, we have voters who have been suppressed, depressed and disaffected and disengaged, and so we have a responsibility to engage voters everywhere,” Nickens said. 

Leftwich did not immediately respond to a request for comment.