Key to the House: Meet Virginia’s 34 new state delegates

Del.-elect Adele McClure, D-Arlington, recently posted on X, formerly Twitter, a photo of the 34-member freshman class that will join the House of Delegates in January.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, the incoming Senate majority leader, responded: “You don’t see change like this in Virginia politics except about once every century.”

The state Supreme Court imposed new legislative boundaries in December 2021 that lumped dozens of lawmakers into districts with fellow incumbents. In the upheaval that followed, 16 delegates retired, eight lost primaries or general elections, nine were elected to the state Senate and one — Del.-elect Nadarius Clark — stepped down from one House district in order to run in another, in which he was elected Nov. 7.

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Democrats will take over the House in January, holding a slight 51-49 edge. Del. Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, will make history as Virginia’s first African American speaker of the House in its more than 400-year history.

Here is a brief introduction to Virginia’s 34 newly elected delegates:

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Del.-elect Bonita G. Anthony

Party: Democrat

District 92: Parts of Norfolk and Chesapeake

Profession: Executive director of retention and persistence, Virginia State University; longtime technical and engineering educator, including at Old Dominion University; previously an engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration, Comptek Federal Systems and Newport News Shipbuilding

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Del.-elect Alex Askew

Party: Democrat

District 95: Parts of Virginia Beach and Norfolk

Profession: Business and policy consultant; former chief of staff, Virginia House of Delegates; state delegate 2020-2022

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Virginia scorecard: Meet the 17 new state senators

Del.-elect Destiny Levere Bolling

Party: Democrat

District 80: Part of Henrico County

Profession: Communications director of the Virginia AFL-CIO; small-business owner; former compliance officer and teacher, Washington School for Girls

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Del.-elect Katrina Callsen

Party: Democrat

District 54: Charlottesville, part of Albemarle County

Profession: Deputy city attorney for Charlottesville, former teacher, former member of the Albemarle School Board

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Del.-elect Nadarius Clark

Party: Democrat

District 84: Parts of Suffolk, Isle of Wight County and Chesapeake; all of the city of Franklin

Profession: Mental health counselor, delegate from 2022 to March 2023

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Del.-elect Laura Jane Cohen

Party: Democrat

District 15: Part of Fairfax County

Profession: Fairfax County School Board member; former owner of Belle Jar Design, a vintage home decor and furniture refinishing shop; former teacher

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Del-elect Joshua Cole

Party: Democrat

District 65: Parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties; all of Fredericksburg

Profession: Pastor; executive assistant to the CEO of GCubed Enterprises, an IT and cybersecurity business; state delegate from 2020 to 2022

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Del.-elect Rae Cousins

Party: Democrat

District 79: Part of Richmond

Profession: Lawyer

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Del.-elect Will Davis

Party: Republican

District 39: Franklin County, parts of Roanoke and Bedford counties

Profession: Lawyer

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Del.-elect Mark Earley Jr.

Party: Republican

District 73: Part of Chesterfield County

Profession: Lawyer

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Del.-elect Baxter Ennis

Party: Republican

District 89: Parts of Chesapeake and Suffolk

Profession: Retired lieutenant colonel, U.S. Army; former official at Regent University, including as director of public and university relations; author; currently publisher of a monthly newspaper

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Del.-elect Michael Feggans

Party: Democrat

District 97: Part of Virginia Beach

Profession: Tech entrepreneur; retired master sergeant, U.S. Air Force

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Del.-elect Debra Gardner

Party: Democrat

District 76: Part of Chesterfield County

Profession: Social worker and counselor

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Del.-elect Tom Garrett

Party: Republican

District 56: Parts of Fluvanna and Goochland counties; all of Appomattox, Buckingham and Fluvanna counties; parts of Prince Edward and Louisa counties

Profession: Defense attorney and consultant; former 5th District congressman, state senator, Louisa County commonwealth’s attorney, assistant state attorney general and U.S. Army captain

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Virginia state Capitol

Rainwater offers a time for reflection at the state Capitol.




Del.-elect Chad Green

Party: Republican

District 69: Parts of York, James City and Gloucester counties and Newport News

Profession: Lawyer, commercial waterman, author, member of the York County Board of Supervisors

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Del.-elect Tim Griffin

Party: Republican

District 53: Parts of Bedford and Nelson counties, all of Amherst County

Profession: Lawyer, former Amherst and Bedford prosecutor

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Del.-elect Rozia Henson Jr.

Party: Democrat

District 19: Parts of Prince William and Fairfax counties

Profession: Federal contractor and program manager for the Department of Homeland Security, consultant

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Del.-elect Phil Hernandez

Party: Democrat

District 94: Part of Norfolk

Profession: Civil rights lawyer; senior vice president for policy and advocacy, The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis

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Del.-elect Geary Higgins

Party: Republican

District 30: Parts of Loudoun and Fauquier counties

Profession: Retired vice president of labor relations for the National Electrical Contractors Association, former member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and the Loudoun School Board

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Del.-elect Michael Jones

Party: Democrat

District 77: Parts of Richmond and Chesterfield County

Profession: Pastor, member of the Richmond City Council

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Del.-elect Hillary Pugh Kent

Party: Republican

District 67: All of King George, Westmoreland, Northumberland, Lancaster and Richmond counties; part of Caroline County

Profession: Vice president at her family’s beverage distribution company, Al Pugh Distributing

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Del.-elect Karen Keys-Gamarra

Party: Democrat

District 7: Part of Fairfax County

Profession: Lawyer, Fairfax County School Board member

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Del.-elect Amy Laufer

Party: Democrat

District 55: Parts of Albemarle, Louisa and Nelson counties

Profession: Founder and board member of Virginia’s List, a political action committee that backs Democratic women running for state office; former teacher; former member of the Charlottesville School Board

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Del.-elect Ian Lovejoy

Party: Republican

District 22: Part of Prince William County

Profession: Founder of Reliant Hiring Solutions, a national recruitment firm; former director of operations, Home Instead Senior Care; former member of the Manassas City Council

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Del.-elect Marty Martinez

Party: Democrat

District 29: Part of Loudoun County

Profession: Former system engineer with SAIC, CSSI and Northrop Grumman; former member of the Leesburg Town Council

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Del.-elect Adele McClure

Party: Democrat

District 2: Part of Arlington County

Profession: Executive director, Virginia Legislative Black Caucus; former project manager, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development; former policy director for then-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax

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Del.-elect Paul Milde

Party: Republican

District 64: Part of Stafford County

Profession: Founder and president of CIP Finishes, a construction firm that installs interior hardware in multifamily residential, and commercial projects; former member of the Stafford Board of Supervisors

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Del.-elect Delores Oates

Party: Republican

District 31: parts of Warren and Frederick counties, all of Clarke County

Profession: Longtime job recruiter for technical positions; currently vice president for Foxhound Federal, which finds candidates for federal agencies and consulting organizations; member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors

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Del.-elect Chris Obenshain

Party: Republican

District 41: parts of Montgomery and Roanoke counties

Profession: Montgomery County prosecutor; major in the U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps; former aide to Sen. George Allen, R-Va.; former assistant state attorney general, former assistant county attorney for Roanoke County

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Del.-elect David Owen

Party: Republican

District 57: parts of Henrico and Goochland counties

Profession: Former general contractor who spent 20 years as president of Boone Homes

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Del.-elect Atoosa Reaser

Party: Democrat

District 27: part of Loudoun County

Profession: Lawyer, member of the Loudoun School Board, former deputy town attorney for Herndon in Fairfax County

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Del.-elect Kannan Srinivasan

Party: Democrat

District 26: Part of Loudoun County

Profession: Accountant; head of finance for chef Josè Andrès’ restaurant group; former executive at Asurion, an IT services and consulting company

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Del.-elect Josh Thomas

Party: Democrat

District 21: Part of Prince William County

Profession: Lawyer, U.S. Marine Corps veteran

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Del.-elect Eric Zehr

Party: Republican

District 51: Parts of Campbell, Bedford and Pittsylvania counties

Profession: Farmer, small businessman, former member of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors

Videos: Election coverage from The Times-Dispatch

Voters speak about the importance of voting on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

Voters hit the polls in Virginia Beach

Voter Terrence Rice speaks about his experience on election day at the East District Center in Richmond, VA. Nov. 7.

VIRGINIA ELECTION DAY VOTING POLLS BALLOT VOTERS WASHINGTON DC VIRGINIA GLENN YOUNGKIN

Andrew Cain, Charlotte Rene Woods and Dave Ress offer first impressions from polling places and what to expect as the votes are counted

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is in Bristow, VA to promote State Senate candidate Bill Woolf and State House candidate Ian Lovejoy.

Andrew Cain, Anna Bryson and Dave Ress talk about key issues in today’s elections

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Southwest breezes will send temperatures soaring into the 70s.

Andrew Cain, Charlotte Woods and Dave Ress talk about Virginia’s key house races

Andrew Cain, Charlotte Woods and Dave Ress talk about Virginia’s key Senate races.

Times-Dispatch Politics Editor Andrew Cain talks with columnists Michael Paul Williams and Jeff Schapiro about the Richmond casino referendum

The Times-Dispatch Politics Editor Andrew Cain talks with columnists Michael Paul Williams and Jeff Schapiro about the political dominoes that…

Times-Dispatch Politics Editor Andrew Cain talks with columnists Michael Paul Williams and Jeff Schapiro about the Richmond casino referendum

Times-Dispatch Politics Editor Andrew Cain talks with columnists Michael Paul Williams and Jeff Schapiro about the Hanover School Board

Times-Dispatch Politics Editor Andrew Cain talks with analyst Bob Holsworth on local elections

Virginia State Delegate Rodney Willett speaks to his supporters after winning his race

Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico speaks to his supporters after winning his race, defeating Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Executive Editor Chris Coates and reporter Em Holter discuss Richmond’s casino referendum. Read about the results at g…

Executive Editor Chris Coates and politics columnist Jeff Schapiro discuss the outcome of Tuesday’s election. Read about the results at go.ric…

Andrew Cain (804) 649-6645

acain@timesdispatch.com

@AndrewCainRTD on Twitter

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