Mike Allers Sr. is seeking the GOP nomination for state senate district 28, he announced Tuesday, over a year before the November 2023 election. Allers is a former police officer and has served as a public educator for 20 years; his initial campaign message fits within a broader Virginia GOP push for reforming schools and their curriculum and improving public safety.
“I had initially reasoned that returning to the ranks of School Administration would be the correct course of action for me due to the current state of Virginia Education,” Allers (pictured above) said in a Tuesday press release. “However, I have decided instead that my energy, talents, and experiences would be better utilized serving as a citizen legislator to the newly drawn 28th Senate District.”
The new state Senate District 28 is a strongly-Republican area, and Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) currently represents the region. Reeves is running for the GOP nomination for the 10th congressional district for the 2022 election; if he wins, that would create a vacancy. On Friday, Reeves told The Virginia Star that if he does not win his congressional race, he will seek reelection to the state Senate.
Additionally, if Reeves does win, Delegate Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) may seek the GOP nomination for SD 28 after his House of Delegates district was reshaped in the 2021 redistricting cycle. Freitas did not return a request for comment about a potential senate run.
In either case, that sets up Allers to potentially face a Virginia GOP heavy-hitter.
“My dad’s not really focused on that, but we’ll cross that bridge if we get there,” said Mike Allers, Jr., who is running his father’s campaign.
“Look, my dad’s six-five, 250, my dad’s really not afraid of anything that comes at him. He believes his message at the end of the day is the best for those people, for the people of that district that he’s lived and worked in for over 20 years,” Mike Allers, Jr. told The Star.
Mike Allers, Sr. currently teaches fourth grade in an Orange County public school, and has also served as a school principal. He believes his experience will help him implement core Republican educational policy as a public school insider.
Mike Allers, Jr. said part of that includes a focus on curriculum reform to address liberal bias in schools, Critical Race Theory, equity initiatives, culturally responsive teaching, and Common Core-related programs.
“He always brings this up. There’s a large majority out there of educators who are conservative but their voices are drowned out by the people at the top. The people at the top are out-of-touch liberals, but there’s plenty of conservative teachers that are sent there to do the Lord’s work. Through no fault of their own they’re caught up in the politics of that situation,” Mike Allers, Jr. said.
Most GOP elections watchers in Virginia are still focused on the 2022 Congressional election. So far, only one other state senate race has gained major GOP attention, with Tina Ramirez announcing her campaign for SD 12, where current Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) has said she will run in 2023. Both candidates have already been trading barbs in the opening stage of the year-long battle for the GOP nomination for that seat.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Michael Allers Sr.” by Michael Allers Sr.
