Where Harrisonburg Candidates Stand on the Issues: November 3, 2026 Election
What each candidate on the Harrisonburg ballot has said, sorted by issue, in their words or a close paraphrase, with the source linked. A candidate with nothing on record is listed as such. This page does not score, rank or recommend anyone.
Election day is November 3, 2026. Last updated October 9, 2026. For every race and candidate, see what's on the ballot in Harrisonburg.
Abortion
U.S. House of Representatives, 6th District
Beth A. Macy (Democratic)
Reproductive rights: She supports codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law and protecting reproductive health care, including access to contraception, abortion medication and IVF. (VPM News candidate survey)
Ben L. Cline (Republican, incumbent)
Abortion: His campaign site says he supports legislation protecting unborn life. (VPM News candidate survey)
Health care and retirement
U.S. House of Representatives, 6th District
Beth A. Macy (Democratic)
Health care: She calls for restoring Affordable Care Act tax credits, rescinding Medicaid cuts and limiting private-equity ownership of local hospitals; she also supports universal health coverage. (VPM News candidate survey)
Ben L. Cline (Republican, incumbent)
Health care: He voted for the budget reconciliation package that the survey says cuts federal health spending; he also supported its $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. (VPM News candidate survey)
U.S. Senate, statewide
Mark R. Warner (Democratic, incumbent)
Health care: At the disability-policy forum, he called for stronger health-care funding. (VPM News Senate candidate survey)
Bert Mizusawa (Republican)
Health care: He argued for stronger oversight to address fraud, waste and abuse in federal programs and support disability services and long-term care. (VPM News Senate candidate survey)
Schools and education
Harrisonburg City School Board (vote for not more than three)
Emma Phillips (Independent, incumbent)
Teacher retention: Phillips identified teacher retention as an important issue for a second term. She advocated for salary increases for teachers and staff beyond the amounts allotted in the state budget and said the board has worked to show staff they are valued. (The Harrisonburg Citizen)
Student achievement: She said she wants to continue celebrating the diversity in Harrisonburg City Public Schools and described closing achievement gaps, especially among English-language learners, as a district focus. (The Harrisonburg Citizen)
Parental leave: The article reports that Phillips helped push for paid parental leave for school staff, allowing new parents to take paid time off rather than use sick leave. (The Harrisonburg Citizen)
Debra Stevens Fitzgerald (Independent)
Artificial intelligence: Fitzgerald said she is seeing the effects of artificial intelligence on students and their work in her role as a professor. (The Harrisonburg Citizen)
Screen time: She said she is also seeing how students were affected by screen time and attending school during the COVID-19 shutdown. (The Harrisonburg Citizen)
Rachel G. Smallwood (Independent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Housing
Harrisonburg City Council (vote for not more than two)
Dany R. Fleming (Democratic, incumbent)
Housing: He supports expanding housing choices and affordability across income levels. (Dany Fleming campaign website)
Homeownership: He said Harrisonburg needs more housing across the spectrum, including starter homes and move-up homes, and said he wants to increase the city’s homeownership rate from 40% to 60%. (WHSV candidate coverage)
Monica L. Robinson (Democratic, incumbent)
Housing supply: She said Harrisonburg faces a shortage of housing across income levels, including affordable housing, student housing, and homes for families and individuals. (WHSV)
Sal T. Romero Jr. (Independent)
Affordability: He said he wants to make Harrisonburg more affordable, create more opportunities for people to succeed, and ensure City Hall works for everyone who lives in the city or makes it their home. (WHSV)
Public safety
Harrisonburg City Council (vote for not more than two)
Dany R. Fleming (Democratic, incumbent)
City services: He says he wants to bring outside funding to improve transportation, public safety and downtown. (Dany Fleming campaign website)
Monica L. Robinson (Democratic, incumbent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Sal T. Romero Jr. (Independent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Energy and utilities
U.S. House of Representatives, 6th District
Beth A. Macy (Democratic)
Data centers: She supports a moratorium on new data-center construction until safeguards protect land, water, energy costs and future jobs. (VPM News candidate survey)
Ben L. Cline (Republican, incumbent)
Data centers: He has said local and state governments, consulting residents, should make data-center decisions, and supports requiring data centers to pay for new transmission infrastructure. (VPM News candidate survey)
Elections and government
U.S. Senate, statewide
Mark R. Warner (Democratic, incumbent)
Disability access: He supported helping people with disabilities remain in their homes and improving voting access for people with disabilities. (VPM News Senate candidate survey)
Bert Mizusawa (Republican)
Disability access: He supported helping people receive care where they want to live and reasonable voting accommodations, including mail voting and special opportunities at polling places, with voter-eligibility safeguards. (VPM News Senate candidate survey)
Jobs and the economy
Harrisonburg City Council (vote for not more than two)
Dany R. Fleming (Democratic, incumbent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Monica L. Robinson (Democratic, incumbent)
Economic development: She said her top issue is building on economic-development programs so businesses can locate and grow in Harrisonburg. She wants to expand the commercial tax base, saying that could support infrastructure and services while easing residents’ tax pressure. (WHSV)
Sal T. Romero Jr. (Independent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Harrisonburg City School Board (vote for not more than three)
Emma Phillips (Independent, incumbent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Debra Stevens Fitzgerald (Independent)
Collective bargaining: The article reports that one of her final votes in her previous board service was to allow collective bargaining for staff, enabling employees to negotiate contracts and wages collectively. (The Harrisonburg Citizen)
Rachel G. Smallwood (Independent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Other positions
U.S. Senate, statewide
Mark R. Warner (Democratic, incumbent)
Artificial intelligence: Warner called for federal regulation of artificial intelligence in a candidate forum focused on disability policy. (VPM News Senate candidate survey)
Bert Mizusawa (Republican)
Artificial intelligence: He emphasized enforcing existing anti-discrimination laws and argued employers should remain responsible for discriminatory decisions made using AI, rather than endorsing new federal AI regulation. (VPM News Senate candidate survey)
Harrisonburg City Council (vote for not more than two)
Dany R. Fleming (Democratic, incumbent)
No public statement found in our sources.
Monica L. Robinson (Democratic, incumbent)
Legislative advocacy: She described legislative advocacy as an ongoing way to address city challenges: meet more directly with legislators, coordinate with city staff, identify legislation affecting Harrisonburg earlier, and advocate for local authority and funding. (WHSV)
Sal T. Romero Jr. (Independent)
Public involvement: He said residents should be involved early in planning, informed about proposals and their potential effects, and included in collaboration on new projects and ideas. (WHSV)