State senator says she will not mount write-in campaign for her seat

State Sen. Amanda Chase said Wednesday she will not mount a write-in campaign to keep the Senate seat she has held since 2016, but she said she was keeping options open for a possible statewide run next year.

In an email to supporters, the Chesterfield Republican said it was “far too much work with little return due” to run a write-in candidacy for the 12^th Senate District seat. She cited the amount of “time, energy and effort to educate voters on all the specifics” of writing her name in when Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights voters go to the polls in November.

Chase, who lost a three-way Republican primary to former state Sen. Glen Sturtevant in June, had threatened to run as a write-in after raising issues about the early voting process in her district for the primary. She accused the Chesterfield Republican party of undermining her by choosing a member of Sturtevant’s campaign team to oversee the certification of the machines to be used for early voting.

While she said she does “100% believe there was maladministration” during the early voting process, she noted other factors for her decision.

“I am going to spend my time enjoying the rest before potentially running a statewide race next year,” she said at the end of her email.

When asked by The Progress-Index if that statewide run meant either a congressional run in 2024 or another gubernatorial run in 2025, Chase was not ready to commit to her decision.

“I have an idea but want to hear from my supporters first to hear their thoughts,” she said.

Often called “Trump in heels” for her unwavering support of former President Donald Trump, Chase has been a lightning rod of sorts during her eight years in the Senate. She sparred often with Republican legislative leadership and was censured by the Senate in 2021 after she spoke out in favor of the Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. As a result of that censure, Chase was stripped of her Senate seniority and her lone Senate committee assignment.

Two years ago, Chase launched a bid for the Republican nomination for governor, losing to Glenn Youngkin in a preferred-choice party canvass. Youngkin went on to defeat Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the November election, ushering in total GOP control of all three top statewide offices.

In the June primary, many Republican legislators threw their support behind Sturtevant. They included two fellow local legislators of Chase's, Dels. Carrie Coyner of Chesterfield and Mike Cherry of Colonial Heights.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Chase will not run as write-in for Senate seat