DSA candidate Jackie McDonnough stuns Anne Holton, wins 6th District school board seat

Earlier this year, the Richmond School Board decided that Anne Holton was the best fit for the vacant 6th District seat. But residents thought otherwise. 

In a major upset, Jackie McDonnough won with a resounding share of the vote. As of Tuesday night she had 68% of the vote, with a few thousand early and absentee ballots remaining to be counted. She will now represent Richmond Public Schools’ 6th District next year.

It is a dramatic win against Holton, a recognized name backed by leaders within the state’s Democrat party. 

McDonnough raised $32,548, compared to Holton’s $110,438, which was the highest total in recent Richmond School Board election history. 

The former director of science education at VCU’s School of Education aligned herself with the Richmond Democratic Socialists of America, who endorsed her for the race. She was also endorsed by 3rd District Councilwoman Kenya Gibson and Richmond Del. Charlie Schmidt – both of whom were also endorsed by the DSA during their races. 

McDonnough said in a speech to supporters on Tuesday night that when she met the DSA, “I realized, I was with my people.”

She referenced her Brooklyn upbringing and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is also affiliated with the DSA.

“I’ve seen what can happen when working people come together and decide that they’re going to make a difference,” she said. “And it’s like, ‘Oh my God, this could happen in Richmond.’ And I knew with this team, it could happen.”

It’s the latest win locally for the DSA, as Kenya Gibson won a City Council seat in 2024 and State Del. Charlie Schmidt defeated establishment candidate Michelle Mosby in 2025.

Sarandon Elliott, who works with Gibson, served as McDonnough’s campaign manager.

“Our opponent was meant to be the Second Lady of the United States of America. We were not invited to win this race,” Elliott wrote in a press release. “We won big anyway because we built a coalition that understood that the status quo is no longer working, and we have the power to do something about it if we work together. 

McDonnough, a strong critic of the school division, ran on living and teaching within the 6th District for over 40 years and maintaining relationships with residents.

“We have made a difference and we are going to continue to do that,” she told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night at her Northside home. “All of those doors we knocked on, those people we met doing what we did – they need to have the hope that we could bring to them, but they also need to understand what their power is.”

In a debate hosted between VPM News and The Richmonder, she believed that RPS’ students are “not being adequately prepared” for college or the workforce after graduation, salaries of the top employees in central office are too high, and that the division needs a forensic audit into its budget and finances. 

It was different from Holton’s stance, which was that RPS had been progressing since she joined in February and that “our leadership team is worth what we pay them.”

Both candidates were supportive of a strong collective bargaining agreement between the Richmond Education Association, the union representing the division’s educators.

Holton, former State Superintendent of Education, was most notably endorsed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, along with multiple state and city representatives like U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, State Sen. Lamont Bagby, Del. Betsey Carr and former Mayor Levar Stoney.

The daughter of former Gov. Linwood Holton and wife of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine was selected to fill the seat after former Board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed unexpectedly vacated the seat last December. Harris-Muhammed also endorsed Holton for the position. 

Holton, who attended RPS during integration, leaned on her experience of dealing with finances at the statewide level, first as the secretary of education and then interim president of George Mason University. 

But McDonnough was critical of the decisions Holton made during her tenure, like her vote to close the Richmond Virtual Academy due to funding and support for outsourcing substitute teachers. 

Mayor Danny Avula congratulated McDonnough on her win Tuesday night.

“RPS is the heartbeat of our City, and your service on the Board will be essential to stewarding resources and policies to support our students and teachers,” he said in a statement.  

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org