Virginia Government & Politics
Republican senator's challenger has focused on gun control — but now says she may drop out
By Marie Albiges
State Sen. John Cosgrove, left, and Rebecca Raveson are the candidates in the 14th Senate District.
A Republican state senator is facing a general election challenge for the first time in a decade in a district that's considered strongly favorable to the incumbent.
Sen. John Cosgrove, 65, has held the seat in the 14th Senate District since 2014. He was a delegate for a decade prior to that and served on the City Council in Chesapeake, where he lives.
He's running against Democrat Rebecca Raveson, a retired loan officer from Suffolk now working as a trustee for an estate.
Raveson said in an email Oct. 15 she was withdrawing from the race after she refused to disclose her age and was told by a reporter that The Virginian-Pilot would be publishing the age associated with her public records, which is 72. On Oct. 23, she reversed herself and wrote in an email that she would be running and expected to win the Nov. 5 election.
The district spans seven cities and counties: Southampton, Franklin, Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. The Virginia Public Access Project gives Republicans a 38% advantage in the district.
Cosgrove, an engineer who serves as president of Waterways Consulting, sits on the commerce and labor, education and health, rehabilitation and social services, transportation, and local government committees.
Over the years, he's filed legislation to improve screening and discharge procedures for mentally ill inmates, get menhaden regulation out of the hands of the General Assembly, and require voters to register by party.
He once tried to pass a bill that would keep all Virginia law enforcement officers' identities a secret.
He twice unsuccessfully carried legislation that would require registered sex offenders to notify an official when they entered an emergency shelter.
During the last session, his bill waiving the requirement that school divisions provide additional teaching time if a governor issues an evacuation order was signed into law.
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Before saying she would withdraw from the race, Raveson answered emailed questions about her top priority, which she said was gun control. She said if elected, she would try to pass Gov. Ralph Northam's legislative package that included universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders and bans on high-capacity magazines.
It's been a quiet election for the candidates in the 14th Senate District. Cosgrove has raised a modest $90,600 as of Sept. 30 and spent a little more than half of it, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Raveson didn't report spending or raising any money in the last round of campaign finance reporting, and has $290 on hand compared to Cosgrove's $68,000.
All 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for election this year. Republicans hold a 20-19 majority in the Senate and a 51-48 majority in the House, with one vacancy in each chamber.
This article has been updated to include John Cosgrove's age and Rebecca Raveson's declaration that she was not withdrawing from the race.
Marie Albiges, 757-247-4962, malbiges@dailypress.com
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