Democrat Mehta Aims To Unseat Republican Earley In Chesterfield-Based House District 73 Race

By Charlotte Rene Woods, Virginia Mercury

October 11, 2025

The race to represent House District 73, which encompasses much of Chesterfield County, serves as a litmus test for shifting demographics and partisan tides, and may reveal which issues motivate Virginia voters beyond party affiliation.

Incumbent Republican Mark Earley Jr. is a lawyer and a first-term delegate who will defend his seat against Democratic challenger Leslie Mehta, who is hoping to make her debut in the House. Neither are strangers to politics, however.

Earley, a lawyer, is the son of former Republican state Attorney General Mark Earley Sr. The younger Earley was first elected in 2023 and had previously served in the administration of former Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Mehta, a lawyer who was the former legal director for Virginia’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter, was appointed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to serve on the Rare Disease Council and previously posed an unsuccessful challenge to U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, for the 1st Congressional District.

This means it’s also not Mehta’s first time taking on a Republican in a district that could be a challenge to flip. She’s feeling confident, she told The Mercury in a recent interview, as she plans to be “part of the conversation” in addressing federal funding fallout if elected. And there’s one aspect that might give her an edge: House District 73 is a little more favorable to Democrats than the 1st Congressional District was.

The district leans Republican but an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project shows Democrat Kamala Harris beat Republican President Donald Trump by .6% of a point there last November. Republican margins for statewide or national elections in the district have shrunk in recent years, in part from redistricting. The locality has also evolved over the years as it has expanded in population growth and partisan demographics.

Leslie Mehta

Mehta’s campaign came out of the gate with an endorsement from Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger was one of the most bipartisan members of Congress before her gubernatorial bid, and Mehta said she also plans to legislate in that fashion.

Describing herself as a “pragmatist” who will work across the aisle to get things done, she emphasized that if elected, her Democratic colleagues will count on her to help advance three in-progress constitutional amendments. The Democrat-led proposals would protect reproductive health care access in the state’s constitution, automatically restore voting rights to people who complete felony sentences and remove a prohibition on same-sex marriage.

As Mehta has struggled with fertility issues and chronic pain due to endometriosis, in vitro fertilization is how she was able to conceive and she has since had a hysterectomy. She emphasized how the amendment applies to multiple reproductive health decisions, including abortions.

“There’s so much shame sometimes that’s centered around not only the things that happen to our bodies, but the decisions that we make,” she said.

Some of Mehta’s key priorities include exploring tax reform so that higher-income earners pay “their fair share,” and finding ways to ease burdens on middle-class or working families. Her ideas include reforming property and car taxes; eliminating the car tax is a goal of both Spanberger and Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, though it has failed in past governors’ terms.

Like many Democrats, Mehta aims to invest more state money in public education. Bolstering funding also appears to be a goal of Earley’s, though The Mercury was unable to ask for more details as he did not respond to multiple interview requests.

Mehta also believes her passion for health care policy can help appeal to voters.

When campaigning for Congress last year, she said health care affordability and access were concerns she heard repeatedly while door-knocking. The issues have remained salient as Congress’ reconciliation bill that passed this summer will alter hospital funding mechanisms and likely cause thousands of Virginians and millions of Americans to lose Medicaid coverage.

A chorus of Democratic lawmakers, hospital officials, and health care advocates have warned that the forthcoming changes from the reconciliation bill will likely cause hospitals to trim services — with some vulnerable to closures — while those without insurance who put off care can face more dire outcomes and higher costs others will absorb.

“We just cannot put these kinds of constraints on Virginians or health care professionals,” Mehta said. “We’re going to have to figure out ways to make it better. So I want to be part of that conversation.”

Medicaid is personal to her, as it helped improve the life of her oldest daughter Brooke, who suffered a rare, debilitating genetic disorder before her death. Brooke needed a specialized stroller for mobility, and eventually, an eye-gaze device allowed her to communicate words without speaking.

“As a first-time mom, I got to hear the words ‘I love you, Mommy’ because of Medicaid,” Mehta explained.

Though she and her husband have private insurance, Brooke’s status as someone with a disability helped them offset a variety of her living expenses and gave the two-time Democratic candidate deeper insight into how critical the program is to many Virginians.

Mark Earley, Jr.

Health care is also a priority for Earley, though it’s unclear what his exact plans are because he could not be reached to share more details.

His campaign website states that “easier access, better quality and far more transparency” can be “achieved through a market-driven approach that drives down cost.”

He added that “mental health and addiction must also be top priorities.”

The state legislature and Gov. Glenn Youngkin have been tackling those issues by bolstering crisis response, creating online resource hubs and promoting crisis hotlines.

Earley’s passion for those issues also stems from his experience as a foster parent and work as an attorney, he’s said.

A member of the minority party during his tenure in the legislature so far, Earley has not passed any legislation, nor did any of his 15 bills filed this year make it out of the House.

Though he hasn’t been able to advance his ideas, his party has depended on him to help vote down key Democratic-led proposals.

Of the three in-progress constitutional amendments that need to pass a second time before voters can weigh in next year, two cleared on a bipartisan basis, while one — the reproductive rights measure — now hinges on Democrats retaining their majority in the House.

While every Republican in the state legislature voted against the proposal to enshrine reproductive rights into Virginia’s constitution, Earley also strongly opposed it when he spoke out on the House floor in January.

There, he alleged the amendment “obliterates” parental rights and called it “among the most extreme and ideologically-driven amendments that have been proposed in the nation.”

Democrats countered that state law already outlines parental consent for minors to have surgeries, like abortions. Still, the matter has remained a concern for Republicans.

Like many in his party, Earley’s other priorities include “empowering parents” and allowing them more say in K-12 public education. He also supports excluding transgender students from “girl’s and women’s sports and spaces,” a goal Virginia has moved towards achieving this year.

Earley said he has prioritized supporting families overall as a delegate and will continue to do so if reelected. As a parent of two who fostered six children, he’s also passionate about supporting foster families.

Speaking to the camera in a video he posted to his website, he threaded various action items together, including boosting parents’ rights, lowering the cost of health care, and lowering taxes, among others.

“This is where my mind is, and it’s where my effort will be: to support and protect the Virginia family,” he said.

This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit VirginiaMercury.com.