Legendary lawmaker Alicia "Chucky" Hansen
While two incumbent senators, namely Alicia Barnes and Myron Jackson have decided not to seek reelection, a surfeit of new candidates have thrown their hats in the race, among them former government officials in the Governor Kenneth Mapp administration — Samuel Carrion, who served as senior policy advisor, Franklin Johnson, who also served as a senior policy advisor to Mr. Mapp, and Devin Carrington, the former Dept. of Licensing and Consumer Affairs commissioner.
Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, the legendary St. Croix senator who sat out the 2018 race for a gubernatorial run with former Senator Adlah Donastorg, is back. Mrs. Hansen, who has been a top vote-getter multiple times, and whose following is diehard, is almost sure to get back in.
Former Senator Jean Forde, who lost his seat during the 2018 generation election — with many voters remembering Mr. Forde's comments made in March, 2017, when he said he would not accept a pay cut as a senator — is back as well. “I will tell you straight up, that if this job was paying $20,000 less, I would not run for it,” Mr. Forde said during a town hall on St. Croix. “Because 1), I was making more than that — as a matter of fact, it is a lateral move for me. 2), It’s because that my efforts, my energy of what I have put in, that I am giving the money’s worth." He later said he regretted making those comments.
While there will be a Democratic primary election on August 1, many of the new candidates have chosen no party, which would make for a healthy opposition in the upcoming 34th Legislature if some are elected into office.
New senatorial candidates running as no party on St. Croix are Mr. Carrion, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Carrington, James Wakefield, Norman Jn Baptist, Clint Ferris, Mrs. Hansen and Michael Springer.
New candidates running as no party, or Independent senatorial candidates as they are listed in the St. Thomas-St. John District, include Ray Fonseca and Irvin Mason. Wayne Adams is running as an Independent Citizens Movement (ICM) candidate.
The nomination documents show more independent-minded candidates on St. Croix, while the St. Thomas-St. John District is heavily dominated by the Democratic Party.
Elsewhere, Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, who faced no competition during the 2018 race, is getting a challenge this year. Shekema M. George has thrown her hat in the race to compete for the Washington, DC seat.
The territory's general election is scheduled for November. Full lists of all candidates in the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Districts can be found here and here, respectively.
Correction: May 13, 2020
A previous version of this story included Epiphane Joseph as a candidate for Senate. Mr. Joseph is seeking a seat in the Board of Elections. The story has been updated.
