The race between Delegate Luke Torian (delegatetorian.com) and Maria Martin (mmartin4virginia.com) for House of Delegates District 52 is something of a Goliath versus David contest. One would expect the news media to cover it to some extent just because the contest is so lopsided. Nope!

Torian is a sufficiently imposing figure that it is a bit surprising he is not running unopposed. Torian is a the Chair of the Virginia House Appropriations Committee. He has considerable control over which bills receive funding. Thus, he is a powerful figure in the House of Delegates. Martin, on the other hand, is not well known. Although she can be fiery speaker, Martin is an immigrant who must still concentrate to speak English well. Except the fact she obviously cares about the fate of her new country, there is little reason to expect her to win.

Here is some of what little news is available.

• Maria Martin, a pro-life, U.S. immigrant makes 2nd run for Woodbridge House seat (potomaclocal.com): This article describes the “David and Goliath-style battle.”
• Prince William Chamber PAC endorses three House candidates | Headlines | insidenova.com: Torian received the Prince William Chamber PAC’s endorsement.
• Government | Politics – Virginia Business: This article contains descriptions of some of Virginia’s leading political figures, including Torian.
• Triangle artist seeks GOP nomination for Del. Luke Torian’s seat | Headlines | insidenova.com: Briefly describes why Martin is running.
• After voting against it earlier this year, Torian now says he supports repealing right-to-work (virginiascope.com): This article describes Torian’s peculiar reversal. What changed Torian’s mind?

So, what information is available to help you decide how to vote? Voter Guides for the House of Delegates races are somewhat scarce, but we have our own. See the notice below. Note that Martin responded to our survey. Here are some additional voter guides.

• Virginia | iVoterGuide.com, the project of a coalition of Christian organizations (see Our Partners | iVoterGuide.com), provides a Liberal/Conservative rating for each of the candidates with respect to both the statewide races (Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General) and each of the House of Delegate races. Click on the “MORE” button to find addtional information including responses to a questionnaire (when candidates choose to respond).
• Virginia Voter Guide | Your Values. Your Vote. Your Voice. (vavoterguide.com) is a product of The Family Foundation. The guide contains section with the statewide candidates (pdf file) and a link showing the positions of the candidates for the House of Delegates (View All Candidates). Alternately, you can fill in the fields and get something more personal.
• PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY | Progressive Voters Guide is what it sounds like (see About | Progressive Voters Guide). This guide provides bios on the “progressive” candidates. Has nothing to say about the other candidates.
• 2021 Virginia Voter Guide: Election Day is November 2nd! – UFCW Local 400 (ufcw400.org) is a union webpage that provides union members directions on who to vote for.
• NORML – Smoke the Vote is a guide that a group advocating the legalization of marijuana has put together.
• On Election Day – Be the Voice of Small Business (nfib.com) is a guide put together by a Virginia organization that advocates for small business. Their guide contains a list of endorsements.
• VCA Voter Guide (virginiachristianaction.org) is a Christian voter guide that makes use of the votes the incumbents made in the House of Delegates. So, there are quite a few “unknowns” with respect to the positions of some of the candidates, but there is also quite a bit of information.

Torian, because he is an incumbent has a voting record, is a relatively well known quantity. Martin’s positions, because of poor news coverage, are more slightly more difficult to discern. Hence, we can compare Torian’s votes against our own beliefs (see the scorecards below), but we may be a little less certain where Martin stands. So, if you are unhappy with Torian and leaning towards Martin, you may wish to visit her website, attend one of her events, and/or try to call her.

• 2021_TFF_ReportCard_Digital-Final.pdf (familyfoundation.org): Legislators are scored based on their voting record on issues that affect the family.
• NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia: Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.
• The Family Foundation of Virginia: Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to “principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty.”
• Virginia Citizens Defense League: Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.
• Virginia Education Association: Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

In addition, consider two other sources.

• Luke Torian – Ballotpedia and Maria Martin – Ballotpedia. Neither candidate filled out Ballotpedia‘s survey, but there is still useful information.
• Elections: House of Delegates District 52 (vpap.org) contains useful information on who is funding each of the candidates. It is worthwhile checking out who is funding each of the candidates and considering how that affects their loyalty to their party and donors, including out of state donors.

NOTICE

Please link to our voter guides: VOTER GUIDES FOR CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY | Prince William-Manassas Family Alliance (familyallianceonline.org).

Please post our flyer on public bulletin boards or leave copies on tables so that voters can pick it up and share it: