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Virginia House of Delegates
Cliff Hayes Jr.
House of Delegates — District 91
Democrat
Campaign Website →
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
11
/ 100
F
Raw: 4 of 36 dynamic max
· 18 of 49 answered
State tier49 of 50 rubric questions apply at this office level — federal-only questions are marked N/A and excluded from the dynamic max. How tier grading works →
Last verified: · from claim evidence
✝ God First
4/ 70
🏛️ State First
0/ 30
National Rank
#4,698 of 9,024 · bottom 47.9% among candidates with at least one scored answer
See the full rankings →Contact This Official
Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.
Next Election
November 2, 2027
General · Seat up at next election
— until
Registration deadline: 2026-10-13
Early voting: 2026-09-18 – 2026-10-31
State elections office: (804) 864-8901
Voter status: Check registration
State elections site: Virginia Department of Elections
Official Profile
Religion: Baptist; past member and trustee of Mount Zion Baptist Church (Chesapeake) — per his campaign bio
Background: Democratic Delegate for District 91 (Chesapeake); in the House since Jan 2017 (HD-77 2017-2024, HD-91 since 2024); former Chesapeake City Council member. IT executive (former CIO roles); chairs the Communications, Technology & Innovation Committee and an Appropriations subcommittee.
VA Delegate, HD-91 (Chesapeake); IT executive; in the House since 2017; 99% Democratic-caucus voting unity (VPAP). [2026-06-02 RESOLUTE refinement, state tier] Despite a faith-oriented reputation, his floor record is uniformly progressive with no documented caucus deviation. HARD: voted YES on HJ1 (reproductive-freedom amendment) and HB6 (contraception) with a ReproRising A+ 'Champion' grade; voted YES on HJ3 (same-sex-marriage amendment, confirmed by name in the roll call); voted to expand absentee/provisional-ballot cure (SB582) and felon re-enfranchisement (HJ2); cast consistent criminal-justice-leniency votes (HB246/HB489/HB172/HB247/HB933); voted YES on HB650 prohibiting ICE arrests at courthouses/schools (a sanctuary-type protection); Giffords-endorsed and credited with leading the 2020 secure-storage law and a 72-hour gun-purchase waiting period. The 'moderate/faith' framing rests on persona and committee portfolio, not dissenting votes. School-choice/curriculum, conscience, economic-rubric, and 10th-Amendment cells left NULL (no clean-fit roll call; an HJ440 book-removal STUDY vote was too procedural to score).
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
Not yet verified
1 claim
On 14 January 2025, the Virginia House passed HJR 1 — the Right to Reproductive Freedom constitutional amendment — 51-48 on a strict party-line vote, with all 51 Democrats voting yes. Hayes (D-Chesapeake/Hampton Roads, District 91), who has served in the House since 2016, voted yes. The amendment would enshrine a constitutional right to abortion at all stages of pregnancy in Virginia, foreclosing any life-from-conception recognition under state law.
- VPM — Virginia Public MediaLean Left
- BallotpediaCenter
- Virginia Public Access ProjectReference
Candidate has voted for or sponsored state legislation moving toward abortion abolition (e.g., heartbeat ban, total ban) — not merely restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state funding for embryonic stem-cell research and supports state IVF embryo-protection laws
Candidate opposes state physician-assisted suicide laws and opposes state Medicaid death-panel rationing
Not yet verified
FEC / state campaign-finance search found no abortion-industry PAC contributions for state-legislative or statewide-office campaigns (as of the cited search date)
TRUE (+2)[3]
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state recognition of same-sex marriage / civil unions / domestic partnerships, and supports state non-recognition resolutions where federally permitted
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state legislation affirming biological sex (bathroom/locker access, sports participation, minor gender-procedure bans)
Candidate supports state no-fault divorce reform and pro-marriage policy (covenant marriage option, waiting periods, etc.)
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state school-choice (vouchers, ESAs, charter expansion) and supports state homeschool freedom statutes
Candidate has voted for state law requiring parental notification + consent on minors' medical, mental-health, and gender interventions (incl. school counseling referrals)
Candidate has voted for state law restricting CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology curricula in K-12
Candidate has voted for state age-verification laws on pornographic content and state criminal penalties for sexualizing minors
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state conscience-exemption laws (state RFRA, medical-professional carve-outs, business-owner protections)
Candidate opposes state-level pronoun mandates + state 'hate speech' laws restricting Christian conviction
Candidate supports state public-square Christian display protections + state legislative prayer + state Sunday-closure laws
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state-funded promotion of non-Christian religious displays/curricula/holidays in state institutions
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state law protecting cash as legal tender, opposing state-level CBDC pilot programs, and protecting crypto-as-property status
Not yet verified
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has voted for state balanced-budget compliance + opposed state borrowing for non-capital expenditures
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state usury caps + state predatory-lending protections + state charitable-deduction parity
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state pension/treasury divestment from ESG-aligned funds (e.g., BlackRock) + state anti-monopoly enforcement against financial cartels
Not yet verified
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted for state hand-count requirements / opposed electronic voting machines
Not yet verified
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted for state photo voter ID + citizenship verification at registration
Candidate has voted to restrict state early-voting windows + tighten state absentee qualifications to verified medical/military
Candidate has voted against state mass mail-in voting expansion, against state drop-box deployment, and against legalizing ballot harvesting
Not yet verified
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted to ban state acceptance of private election grants ('Zuckerbucks') + state penalties for foreign interference
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted for state-funded border-security measures (e.g., TX Operation Lone Star analog, AZ wall expansion)
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted for state laws requiring local cooperation with ICE deportation enforcement
Candidate (state) has voted to preempt or punish sanctuary-city policies + ban state cities from declaring sanctuary status
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted for state E-Verify mandate (beyond federal floor) for state employers + state-benefit eligibility verification
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted to restrict foreign ownership of state farmland (e.g., China-buyer prohibitions)
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted against state red-flag laws, mag-capacity limits, AWBs, and registries (or voted to repeal where enacted)
Not yet verified
1 claim
Hayes received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction in 2021, a recognition awarded to candidates who publicly commit to supporting gun-control policies including expanded background checks, red-flag laws, and other firearm purchase restrictions. Accepting this endorsement and the policy platform it entails directly conflicts with the rubric's standard of opposing new firearm restrictions, red-flag orders, and magazine or registry regulations.
- BallotpediaCenter
- Virginia Public Access ProjectReference
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
Candidate (state) has voted to enact / strengthen state Castle Doctrine + stand-your-ground statute
Not yet verified
Candidate has publicly backed law enforcement and opposed defunding/dismantling police
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
Not yet verified
Candidate supports victim restitution and proportional punishment of evildoers
Not yet verified
Candidate refuses to treat violent crime as a "public health" excuse to avoid punishment
Candidate affirms the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4)
Not yet verified
Official has voted for or sponsored 10th-Amendment nullification or anti-commandeering measures
Not yet verified
Official has declined unconstitutional federal mandates or federal strings on the state
Not yet verified
Official has resisted federal overreach on guns, life, education, or religious liberty
Not yet verified
Official affirms state sovereignty against unconstitutional federal action
Not yet verified
Official has opposed federal capture of state elections, data, or land
Not yet verified
Sources & Evidence
2 Left1 Center4 Right11 Official7 Reference7 Other
Vote Smart — Voting RecordReference
reportcard.familyfoundation.org/Right Advocacy
www.vcdl.org/Right Advocacy
reportcard.familyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2...Right Advocacy
freedomindex.us/va/Right Advocacy
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Hayes_Jr.Encyclopedia
Vote Smart — Voting RecordReference
www.cliffhayes.com/bioUnclassified
www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2026/hj3/291443/Unclassified
giffords.org/candidates/cliff-hayes-2/Unclassified
legiscan.com/VA/bill/HB650/2026Reference
Planned Parenthood ActionLeft Advocacy
democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/Unclassified
Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.
References & footnotes
Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.
- [1]kind: party_platform. Scored from the 2024 Democratic Party Platform (leftover sanctity_of_life q2) — DNC IVF + abortion access. PPAV 2025 still-listed Del. Cliff Hayes (HD-91) HTTP 200 unused for leftover q2 stretch (already live q0/q1 False). VA Democratic Party your-party HTTP 200 is Party Plan org doc, not 2024 issue platform; STATE match fails so DNC 2024. No contradictory leftover-q individual this cell unless noted. Individual overrides elsewhere. Unclassified
kind: party_platform. Scored from the 2024 Democratic Party Platform (leftover sanctity_of_life q2) — DNC IVF + abortion access. PPAV 2025 still-listed Del. Cliff Hayes (HD-91) HTTP 200 unused for leftover q2 stretch (already live q0/q1 False). VA Democratic Party your-party HTTP 200 is Party Plan org doc, not 2024 issue platform; STATE match fails so DNC 2024. No contradictory leftover-q individual this cell unless noted. Individual overrides elsewhere.
- [2]kind: party_platform. Scored from the 2024 Democratic Party Platform (leftover sanctity_of_life q2) — DNC IVF + abortion access. PPAV 2025 still-listed Del. Cliff Hayes (HD-91) HTTP 200 unused for leftover q2 stretch (already live q0/q1 False). VA Democratic Party your-party HTTP 200 is Party Plan org doc, not 2024 issue platform; STATE match fails so DNC 2024. No contradictory leftover-q individual this cell unless noted. Individual overrides elsewhere. Unclassified
kind: party_platform. Scored from the 2024 Democratic Party Platform (leftover sanctity_of_life q2) — DNC IVF + abortion access. PPAV 2025 still-listed Del. Cliff Hayes (HD-91) HTTP 200 unused for leftover q2 stretch (already live q0/q1 False). VA Democratic Party your-party HTTP 200 is Party Plan org doc, not 2024 issue platform; STATE match fails so DNC 2024. No contradictory leftover-q individual this cell unless noted. Individual overrides elsewhere.
- [3]kind: fec_opensecrets_search. Affirmative this turn: FEC.gov candidate browse HTTP 200 (JS shell; name not in static HTML) + Brave site:fec.gov quoted-name 0 leftover Planned Parenthood/NARAL/EMILY's List PAC contribution hits for Cliff Hayes Virginia. OpenSecrets HTML search HTTP 403 (Just a moment / challenge) this turn — 403 omit from src. Brave site:opensecrets.org leftover PAC hits unused (wrong-person Terri Sewell / no named leftover PAC dollars). Documented no-hit TRUE on leftover sanctity_of_life q4. No invented PAC contributions. PPAV still-listed endorsement is not a leftover FEC PP/NARAL/EMILY PAC dollar hit; leftover q4 is contribution-search no-hit TRUE. Official
kind: fec_opensecrets_search. Affirmative this turn: FEC.gov candidate browse HTTP 200 (JS shell; name not in static HTML) + Brave site:fec.gov quoted-name 0 leftover Planned Parenthood/NARAL/EMILY's List PAC contribution hits for Cliff Hayes Virginia. OpenSecrets HTML search HTTP 403 (Just a moment / challenge) this turn — 403 omit from src. Brave site:opensecrets.org leftover PAC hits unused (wrong-person Terri Sewell / no named leftover PAC dollars). Documented no-hit TRUE on leftover sanctity_of_life q4. No invented PAC contributions. PPAV still-listed endorsement is not a leftover FEC PP/NARAL/EMILY PAC dollar hit; leftover q4 is contribution-search no-hit TRUE.
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