Candidate Profile – Mike Dickinson, 68th District (Republican)

Richmond resident Mike Dickinson is running for the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 68.

Dickinson, who is on the Republican ticket ahead of the June 8 primary, said his chief goal if elected would be to reaffirm Virginia’s commitment to law enforcement.

“The last year has been a war on the police from the Democrats, and it's had terrible adverse results for people that live in cities,” he said, regarding protests in Richmond ignited by the killing of George Floyd by a police officer.

Dickinson cited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s “anti-riot” bill as an example of legislation he would replicate if elected to increase penalties for participating in riots – such as holding people without bail for two months if charged, he said.

Currently, a person convicted of participating in a riot would be found guilty of a misdemeanor, according to Virginia Code 18.2-405.

He emphasized his desire to support working class families, and added that he would defend the Constitution if elected.

Another matter of importance to Dickinson was education, and principally to “get schools under control from critical race theory,” he said.

CRT encompasses the idea that racism is embedded as a social construct in society’s legal system and policies, according to Education Week.

Dickinson said he was troubled by behaviors he saw at local schools because of the “indoctrinating effects” of CRT, such as those within his alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University.

“Every day I talk to citizens and 68th District parents who worked hard for a living and send their kids to college, and [their kids] come back a year later and they hate everything,” he said. “They hate, hate, hate.”

Dickinson said he would also advocate for local decades-old school facilities to be repaired – including Henrico's Hermitage High School, where he was a student – and allocate funds toward public education.

Dickinson received an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and a doctorate in public policy at VCU, he said.

He referenced his education when discussing his political background, which includes an unsuccessful campaign for a Richmond City Council seat in 2020 and several other unsuccessful campaigns for state and federal offie.

Dickinson said he got a groundswell of support after the loss that motivated him to run for the House.

Most importantly, Dickinson noted, was that if elected he would fight for his beliefs.

Dickinson, who considers himself a conservative Republican, said he was a Democrat until 2016 when Donald Trump was elected as president of the United States. His support for Trump was evident in multiple Richmond “Trump Trains,” which Dickinson said he helped organize in 2020.

Dickinson said many of his beliefs were something that all people could support, and he would work with anybody as a legislator to meet his goals. He said that Democratic policies had particularly affected Black communities in Richmond, which he would want to see change.

“I think the Black community has been sold a false bill of goods from the Democrats,” he said. “Richmond has had a Democrat mayor and a Democrat city council, and look how bad Richmond city is especially for the poor, minority communities.

“Everybody wants a future for their kids and for their family and their community, no matter the background they are. And I think that we have a lot of people in elected office that are just there to do posturing.”

District 68, currently represented by Del. Dawn Adams, a Democrat who is seeking re-election, has seen five Republican officeholders out of a total of eight officeholders since 1983.

Dickinson said he thought people on all sides of the aisle were ready to get things done, and he would welcome these efforts if elected.