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Virginia House of Delegates
Otto Wachsmann
House of Delegates — District 83
Republican
Campaign Website →
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
16
/ 100
—
Raw: 16 of 18 dynamic max
· 9 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
12/ 70
🏛️ State First
4/ 30
National Rank
#4,308 of 9,024 · top 47.7% 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: Self-identifies broadly as Christian on campaign materials; specific denomination not publicly stated
Background: VA Delegate, HD-83 (Sussex/Surry/Southampton/Dinwiddie area) since the 2023 redistricting; previously HD-75 (2022-2024). Registered pharmacist; owner of Stony Creek Pharmacy; former pharmacy-school faculty; volunteer fireman. Reelected Nov 4, 2025; term through Jan 2028.
VA Delegate, HD-83 (R), sitting since 2022 (HD-75 then HD-83). [2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement, state tier] Genuinely conservative HARD voting record: consistent pro-life (voted NO on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment HJ1/SJ247 in BOTH 2025 and 2026 readings; ChoiceTracker rating 'Anti-Choice'; voted for born-alive protection). Strong 2A (NO on every Democratic gun-control bill -- assault-weapon/magazine bans, waiting periods, red-flag expansions, storage mandates, industry-liability). Election-integrity posture (NO on absentee/early-voting expansion, NO on automatic registration, NO on the felon-re-enfranchisement amendment HJ2). Anti-sanctuary on immigration (YES on HB77 authorizing local enforcement of federal immigration law; NO on HB1441/SB783 restricting local ICE cooperation). Tough-on-crime/pro-police (YES on Line-of-Duty-Act, retired-LEO protections; NO on marijuana sentence-leniency). KEY DEVIATION (verified roll calls): voted YES on the 2025 marriage-equality constitutional amendment (HJ9, 01/14/2025 -- one of only 7 GOP yes votes; and SJ249 companion) -- biblical_marriage q0 scored FALSE -- but REVERSED in 2026, voting NO on HJ3 2nd reference and all companion vehicles (SJ3, HB612, SB311) -- q1 scored TRUE with the reversal noted. Christian-liberty, school-choice/ESA, CBDC/sound-money, 10th-Amendment, E-Verify: no discrete recorded floor vote located -> left null, not inferred.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
TRUE (+2)[1]
1 claim
Voted NO on Virginia's Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment (HJR 1, 2026), a proposed constitutional amendment that would embed a near-unlimited right to abortion — covering all matters related to pregnancy with no gestational limit — in Virginia's Constitution. The amendment passed the House 64-34 on a strict party-line vote; Wachsmann stood with every Republican delegate in opposing it. First elected in 2023, Wachsmann represents District 83 in Gloucester, Mathews, and parts of York County on the Virginia Peninsula and won re-election in November 2025.
- BallotpediaCenter
- Virginia MercuryLean Left
- BallotpediaCenter
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
Not yet verified
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)
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
FALSE (0)[2]
Candidate opposes state recognition of same-sex marriage / civil unions / domestic partnerships, and supports state non-recognition resolutions where federally permitted
TRUE (+2)[3]
Candidate has voted for state legislation affirming biological sex (bathroom/locker access, sports participation, minor gender-procedure bans)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports state no-fault divorce reform and pro-marriage policy (covenant marriage option, waiting periods, etc.)
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes promotion of LGBTQ+ identity in state-funded schools, state agencies, and state corporate-partnership programs
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state school-choice (vouchers, ESAs, charter expansion) and supports state homeschool freedom statutes
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state law requiring parental notification + consent on minors' medical, mental-health, and gender interventions (incl. school counseling referrals)
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state law restricting CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology curricula in K-12
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state age-verification laws on pornographic content and state criminal penalties for sexualizing minors
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state RFRA-style protections for faith-based adoption + foster agencies; opposes state-mandated SS-couple placement
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)
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state-level pronoun mandates + state 'hate speech' laws restricting Christian conviction
Not yet verified
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
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted to restrict state early-voting windows + tighten state absentee qualifications to verified medical/military
TRUE (+2)[3]
Candidate has voted against state mass mail-in voting expansion, against state drop-box deployment, and against legalizing ballot harvesting
TRUE (+2)[3]
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
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted to preempt or punish sanctuary-city policies + ban state cities from declaring sanctuary status
TRUE (+2)[3]
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 supports constitutional carry without permit requirements
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted against state red-flag laws, mag-capacity limits, AWBs, and registries (or voted to repeal where enacted)
TRUE (+2)[3]
1 claim
Voted NO on HB 217 (Virginia's 2026 assault-weapons ban) and the broader gun-control package that cleared the House 58-34 on party lines. The bill — the most expansive firearms restriction in Virginia history — prohibited the sale and manufacture of assault-style rifles, capped magazine capacity to ten rounds, and mandated secure storage. NRA-ILA condemned it as unconstitutional; Gov. Spanberger signed it into law in May 2026. Wachsmann stood with every Republican delegate against it.
- Virginia MercuryLean Left
- nraila.orgUnclassified
- nraila.orgUnclassified
Candidate (state) has voted for state constitutional-carry statute
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted against state universal-background-check schemes
Not yet verified
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
TRUE (+2)[3]
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
TRUE (+2)[3]
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
Not yet verified
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
1 Left1 Center5 Right7 Official4 Reference3 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/Otto_WachsmannEncyclopedia
Vote Smart — Voting RecordReference
Choice Tracker — Abortion VotesLeft Advocacy
freedomindex.us/va/legislator/23016/Right Advocacy
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]Consistent pro-life record: voted NO on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (HJ1/SJ247) in both 2025 and 2026; ChoiceTracker rating 'Anti-Choice'; voted YES on born-alive infant protection. Left Advocacy
Consistent pro-life record: voted NO on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (HJ1/SJ247) in both 2025 and 2026; ChoiceTracker rating 'Anti-Choice'; voted YES on born-alive infant protection.
- [2]Voted YES on the 2025 marriage-equality constitutional amendment (HJ9, 01/14/2025; one of only 7 Republicans voting yes) and the SJ249 companion -- did not affirm marriage as one man and one woman that session. Unclassified
Voted YES on the 2025 marriage-equality constitutional amendment (HJ9, 01/14/2025; one of only 7 Republicans voting yes) and the SJ249 companion -- did not affirm marriage as one man and one woman that session.
- [3]REVERSED in 2026: voted NO on the marriage amendment HJ3 (2nd reference) and on all 2026 companion vehicles (SJ3, HB612, SB311), opposing codification of same-sex marriage. (Reversal from his 2025 YES -- both votes documented.) Official
REVERSED in 2026: voted NO on the marriage amendment HJ3 (2nd reference) and on all 2026 companion vehicles (SJ3, HB612, SB311), opposing codification of same-sex marriage. (Reversal from his 2025 YES -- both votes documented.)
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