Democratic Party of Virginia
Democratic Party of Virginia | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Susan Swecker |
Secretary | Isaac Sarver |
Spokesperson | Grant Fox, Communications Director |
Senate President Pro Tempore | Louise Lucas |
Senate Majority Leader | Dick Saslaw |
House Speaker | Eileen Filler-Corn |
Founded | 1924 |
Headquarters | 919 East Main Street[1] Richmond, Virginia 23223 |
Newspaper | Blue Virginia (unofficial) |
Student wing | Virginia College Democrats |
Youth wing | Virginia Young Democrats |
Women's wing | Virginia Democratic Women’s Caucus |
Overseas wing | Democrats Abroad |
LGBT wing | LGBT Democrats of Virginia |
High School Wing | Virginia Young Democrats Teen Caucus |
Ideology | Centrism Modern liberalism Progressivism Marxism |
Political position | Center-left |
National affiliation | Democratic Party |
Colors | Blue |
Statewide Executive Offices | 0 / 3
|
Senate | 21 / 40
|
House of Delegates | 48 / 100
|
U.S. Senate | 2 / 2
|
U.S. House of Representatives | 7 / 11
|
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors | 9 / 10
|
Website | |
www.vademocrats.org |
The Democratic Party of Virginia is the affiliate (associated with) of the Democratic Party. The Virginia Democrats are based in Richmond, Virginia.[2]
As of 2022, the Democrats are the largest party in the Senate of Virginia. Federally, Virginia has voted for every Democratic presidential candidate since 2008. The Democrats also hold seven out of the 11 state's U.S. House seats and both of the state's U.S. Senate seats.
Organization
[change | change source]Local Democratic Committees
[change | change source]Local Democratic Committees assist the Democratic Party by locality, though they can contain several localities.
Central Committee
[change | change source]The Central Committee controls all matters of the Party. The committee can create an annual budget and the method to nominate candidates for statewide offices.
Current elected officials
[change | change source]Members of Congress
[change | change source]U.S. Senate
[change | change source]Democrats have controlled both of Virginia's seats in the U.S. Senate since 2008:
- Class I: Tim Kaine (Junior Senator)
- Class II: Mark Warner (Senior Senator, Vice Chair of Senate Democratic Caucus, Vice Chair of Senate Intelligence Committee)
U.S. House of Representatives
[change | change source]Out of Virginia's 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, seven are held by Democrats:
- VA-02: Elaine Luria
- VA-03: Bobby Scott
- VA-04: Donald McEachin
- VA-07: Abigail Spanberger
- VA-08: Don Beyer
- VA-10: Jennifer Wexton
- VA-11: Gerry Connolly
Statewide offices
[change | change source]As of 2022, Democrats control none of the three elected statewide offices.
Legislative leadership
[change | change source]- President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia: Louise Lucas
- Senate Majority Leader: Dick Saslaw
- Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates: Eileen Filler-Corn
- House Majority Leader: Charniele Herring
2019 Virginia political crisis
[change | change source]In 2019, all three of Virginia's statewide executive office holders, all Democrats, were in various controversies. Governor Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook page had featured a person in blackface and a person in a Ku Klux Klan hood, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax was accused of having sexually assaulted a professor in 2004, and Attorney General Mark Herring was revealed to have worn blackface at a college party. Parts of the Democratic Party of Virginia told Northam to resign from the governorship, but he did not. The national Democratic Party remained silent, as Northam's and Fairfax's resignation would have meant that Republican Speaker of the House Kirk Cox would have become governor. Ultimately, none of the three accused resigned.[3]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ http://vademocrats.org/
- ↑ "Contact Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine." Democratic Party of Virginia. Retrieved on May 13, 2010.
- ↑ Schwartzman, Paul. "On a political roll, Virginia Democrats now awash in scandal". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 February 2021.