As Del. A.C. Cordoza (R-Hampton) enters one of Virginia’s most closely watched House races, he’s leaning on his alliances with two of the state’s most high-profile Republican leaders in Attorney General Jason Miyares and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
Cordoza, a U.S. Air Force veteran and cybersecurity professional, represents House District 86, one of eight Republican-held districts narrowly won by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Despite securing over 56% of the vote in 2023, Democrats have placed a target on his back in their quest to expand their slim 51-49 majority in the House of Delegates.
In recent weeks, Cordoza has highlighted a string of appearances with Miyares and Earle-Sears, using their support to energize voters and draw sharp contrasts with the Democratic Party on hot-button issues such as public safety, parental rights and education policy.
“It was a pleasure having Attorney General Jason Miyares visit us here in Yorktown,” Cordoza wrote in an early August post.
Cordoza’s ties to Miyares come as the Attorney General recently called for federal intervention in a growing controversy in Loudoun County, where two male students were suspended after expressing discomfort when a biologically female transgender student allegedly filmed them in the boys’ locker room.
“No one should be punished for believing what is taught in biology class,” Miyares said in a press release.
Miyares described the suspensions as instances of viewpoint discrimination and unlawful retaliation.
“In the spring, Loudoun County Public Schools weaponized Title IX to punish male students for expressing discomfort at being forced to share a locker room with a female student who was filming them. Following those reports, Governor Youngkin asked my Office to investigate the facts,” he said.
He stated that an investigation revealed serious concerns, including Title IX violations, unlawful retaliation and viewpoint discrimination.
“All tied back to Loudoun County Public Schools’ habitual misuse of authority and disregard for the law. In June, my Office referred the matter to the U.S.,” Miyares said.
Miyares emphasized that his office is actively monitoring the situation and considering legal action to ensure student rights are protected.
“Let me be clear: We aren’t going to let this go,” Miyares said. “This will not be slid under the carpet. The safety, dignity, and privacy of every student in Virginia should be non-negotiable. What Loudoun did was wrong, but it is never too late to do the right thing. I implore LCPS to do so.”
The incident at Stone Bridge High School has sparked national attention.
A recent New York Times/Ipsos poll found nearly 80% oppose allowing transgender-identifying males to compete in women’s sports, citing fairness and safety concerns. Most respondents also disapprove of providing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to minors, highlighting widespread discomfort with policies involving transgender individuals in opposite-sex spaces, particularly in sports and youth medical care.
The debate has intensified after the Loudoun County School Board voted 6-3 to defy the U.S. Department of Education and retain its current transgender bathroom and locker room policies, despite federal warnings that the decision could jeopardize funding.
This Loudoun controversy is not happening in a vacuum.
It follows years of scandal in the school district, including a 2022 case involving a biologically male student found guilty of sexually assaulting two female classmates, a divisive teacher training on “dismantling white dominant culture” and parental backlash over graphic books like All Boys Aren’t Blue, which critics have said advocated for pedophilia, being available in school libraries.
LCPS actions, as well as similar incidents in other school districts, have become a flashpoint in Virginia politics and a central theme in Earle-Sears’ gubernatorial campaign. Issues like transgender access to locker rooms and sports teams have become defining fault lines in the 2025 election, especially in the governor’s race between Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger.
When Earle-Sears became the gubernatorial candidate in April Cordoza praised her in part for her focus on “parental rights.”
“Over the last four years, Lt. Governor Sears has been a relentless advocate for individual liberty, parental rights, and educational opportunity,” Cordoza said at the time. “She has taken bold action to combat the fentanyl crisis and has fought to lower taxes, putting more money back into the hands of hardworking Virginia families.”
Earle-Sears has made transgender policies in schools a central theme of her gubernatorial campaign, sharply criticizing Democrats, especially her opponent Spanberger, for remaining silent on the Loudoun incident and similar controversies.
A recent campaign ad posted to social media with a post reading, “Think Spanberger’s a centrist? Think again. She’s all-in on boys in girls’ sports and men in women’s locker rooms.”
The one-minute video features provocative imagery, including a clip of a biologically male transgender basketball player knocking down a female athlete during a game, underscoring concerns about fairness and safety in women’s sports.
The ad quotes from a news reporter who said Spanberger’s campaign refused to answer questions about her stance on whether biological males should be allowed to compete in women’s sports or use sex-segregated facilities.
“I asked Abigail Spamberger’s campaign if she would weigh in on the bathroom locker room issue and does she support biological males competing in women’s sports?” the news reporter is heard saying in the ad. “They didn’t answer those questions.”
The ad concludes, “she is for little boys playing in girl sports and for men being in women’s locker rooms. So she’s not exactly a centrist.”
Earle-Sears has condemned Spanberger’s silence on the issue.
“If she cared about Virginia’s parents or daughters, she’d reject this insanity and the extremists endangering our kids,” Earle-Sears said on X.
Meanwhile, a sign displayed at an Arlington school board meeting targeting Earle-Sears drew swift bipartisan condemnation for making a Jim Crow-era comparison between opposition to transgender bathroom access and racial segregation.
“Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom then blacks can’t shair my water fountain,” the sign read.
Earle-Sears called the sign “disgusting” and accused her opponents of fostering a divisive political climate.
Cordoza attended a July fundraiser alongside Earle-Sears, Miyares and Gov. Glenn Youngkin, echoed those concerns, positioning himself as a local voice in a broader statewide movement.
“The energy in the room was electric,” he posted after the event, praising the unity of the Republican ticket and urging voters to “fire up Virginia for victory in November.”
Cordoza’s challenger, Democrat Virgil Thornton Sr., hopes to capitalize on shifting demographics and increased Democratic enthusiasm, particularly in a district that leans blue in federal races. But Cordoza’s grassroots campaigning, along with his ties to statewide GOP power players, could give him a critical edge in a low-turnout election year.
Early voting begins Sept. 20, and Cordoza’s campaign is pushing hard to mobilize conservative voters.
As one of the most competitive House contests in the state, the outcome of the District 86 race may offer a preview of whether Republicans can hold the line or even reclaim the chamber as Virginia barrels toward the 2025 statewide elections.
