South Tidewater News

Mike Dillender, one of seven candidates that were endorsed by the American Federation for Children the Virginia primaries held on June 20th, will be on the ballot in the general election in November for the House District 84 seat.

"I look forward to going to Richmond and serving the 84th District," the candidate said on Facebook. "Our focus is now on November and continuing to share our message with voters."

School choice activist Corey DeAngelis applauded the June 20 victories.“It’s happening,”  DeAngelis tweeted after the Virginia primaries.

He joined the American Federation for Children in celebrating the seven out of eight total candidates endorsed by the AFC that won in the state’s primary election and will be on the November 2023 general election ballot for positions in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. The seven candidates were Emily Brewer (SD17), Tara Durant (SD27), John Stirrup (HD21), Wren Williams (HD47), Lee Peters (HD65), Mark Earley (HD73) and Mike Dillender (HD84), Old Dominion News reported.

 Dillender, a Republican, is running for his first position in office, according to Ballotpedia, aiming for a seat in the House of Delegates. He will run against Democrat Nadarius Clark in the November election for District 84.            

Dillender was born and raised in Missouri before he joined the Navy in 1994, according to his website. Before ending his 25-year career with the Navy in 2019, he served in Africa during the terrorist attacks on American Embassies, in Washington D.C. during the 9/11 attacks, and led “the largest Navy Commander command, Coastal Riverine Squadron Four, which deployed over 550 personnel to simultaneously conduct security operations over four continents,” before ‘retiring’ to become a financial advisor.

An AFC news release celebrated the news, congratulating the winners and the growing focus of the state and residents on the issue of school choice for their families and students. “The VFC PAC invested more than $300,000 in state races to support school choice proponents during the 2023 primary,” according to the press release.                 

The American Federation for Children is an organization that fights for school choice rights for all families at the state and federal level. “When funding for education follows students to the school of their choice, families win,” according to their website. “We believe all parents should have a wide range of high-quality educational options to choose from, regardless of income.”

According to EdChoice.org, Virginia has varying types of school choices for K-12 students. They have intradistrict school choice, allowing families to transfer within their district, but they also have a private school scholarship program. This scholarship is open to families earning less than 300% of the federal poverty line, or students with special needs. The program only grants an annual $25 million to students, an average of 2,918, which is about 23 percent of the normal per-pupil state spending.         

“The education establishment in Virginia has fought the ability for parents to select the best education options for their children, but parents made their wishes clear again at the ballot box this week,” AFC National Director of Government Affairs Ryan Cantrell said, according to the press release. “The victories tonight are just the first step in bringing true school choice to Virginia, and parents are well-positioned to elect a school choice majority in both chambers in November’s general election.”