Democratic Party of Virginia

The Democratic Party of Virginia (VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia.[2]

Democratic Party of Virginia
ChairpersonSusan Swecker
SecretaryIsaac Sarver
Governor of VirginiaRalph Northam
Lieutenant Governor of VirginiaJustin Fairfax
Senate President Pro TemporeLouise Lucas
Senate Majority LeaderDick Saslaw
House SpeakerEileen Filler-Corn
Founded1924 (1924)
Headquarters919 East Main Street[1]
Richmond, Virginia 23223
Student wingVirginia College Democrats
Youth wingVirginia Young Democrats
Women's wingVirginia Democratic Women’s Caucus
Teen wingVirginia Young Democrats Teen Caucus
Overseas wingDemocrats Abroad
LGBT wingLGBT Democrats of Virginia
IdeologyCentrism
Conservatism
Modern liberalism
Progressivism
Political positionCenter to center-left
National affiliationDemocratic Party
Colors  Blue
Statewide Executive Offices
3 / 3
Senate
21 / 40
House of Delegates
55 / 100
U.S. Senate
2 / 2
U.S. House of Representatives
7 / 11
Website
www.vademocrats.org

Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernational election, the first gubernatorial election in Virginia in which the governor was elected by direct popular vote, 34 Virginia Governors have been Democrats. Since the 1851 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election, the first lieutenant gubernatorial election in Virginia in which the lieutenant governor was elected by direct popular vote, 29 Virginia Lieutenant Governors have been Democrats. Since the 1851 Virginia Attorney General election, the first Attorney General election in Virginia in which the Attorney General was elected by direct popular vote, 25 Attorneys General have been Democrats.

As of 2021, Democrats hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, controlling 55 of 100 Virginia House of Delegates seats and 21 of 40 Virginia Senate seats. At the federal level, Virginia has voted for every Democratic presidential candidate since 2008 and every Democratic statewide candidate since 2012. Democrats hold seven of the state's 11 U.S. House seats and both of the state's U.S. Senate seats.

Organization

Local Democratic Committees

Local Democratic Committees serve to promote the Democratic Party in their specific locality. Because of a small population of Democrats, some committees may contain several localities. Local committees endorse candidates for nonpartisan office (such as school board) and do most local organizing such as staffing the polls on election day.

Central Committee

The Central Committee has full control over all matters of the Party, including the adoption of an annual budget, the method of nomination for statewide candidates such as Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General; the adoption of resolutions and policy statements. In addition, the Central Committee can veto any decision of the Steering Committee.

The Central Committee meets at least four times a year, usually in Richmond, although by tradition, the September meeting is in Fredericksburg. Central Committee meetings are accompanied by meetings of the Steering Committee the night before, and Caucus meetings over the weekend.

The Central Committee is composed of 20 members from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts. Each district apportions the central committee seats to localities in the district based on population. Additionally, each district committee can elect three more members from local committees and one member of the Virginia General Assembly.

In addition, the following people are ex-officio members of the Central Committee and their District Committees:

  • Members of the steering committee
  • Democratic Virginia members of the United States Congress
  • Democratic statewide elected officials, such as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General
  • the President Pro Tempore of the Virginia Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates, provided they are Democrats
  • the Democratic Leaders of the Virginia House and Senate
  • the Chairs of the Democratic Caucuses in Virginia the House and Senate
  • the president, national committeeman, and national committeewoman of the Virginia Young Democrats
  • the president and first vice president of the Women's Caucus
  • the chair of the Association of Democratic Elected Officials
  • the Chair of the Virginia Young Democrats Teen Caucus
  • the Chair of the Virginia Young Young Democrats College Caucus
  • and the Chair of the Virginia Young Democrats City/County Caucus [3]

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee makes decisions about the Party in-between meetings of the Central Committee, and also has an exclusive role of overseeing staff.

  • Chairwoman: Susan Swecker
  • 1st Vice Chair for Organization: Gaylene Kanoyton
  • 2nd Vice Chair for Rules and Resolutions: Marc Broklawsk
  • Vice Chair for Technology and Communications: Ricardo Alfaro
  • Vice Chair for Outreach: Sen. L. Louise Lucas
  • Vice Chair for Finance: Tyler Bishop
  • Secretary: Isaac Sarver
  • Treasurer: Barbara Klear
  • DNC Member: Yohannes Abraham
  • DNC Member: Del. Joshua Cole
  • DNC Member: Doris Crouse-Mays
  • DNC Member: Elizabeth Guzman
  • DNC Member: Dave Leichtman
  • DNC Member: Chris Lu
  • DNC Member: Leopoldo Martinez
  • DNC Member: Sen. Jennifer McClellan
  • DNC Member: Atima Omara
  • DNC Member: Anthony Perrone
  • DNC Member: Jeion Ward
  • 1st Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Matt Rowe
  • 2nd Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Sandra Brandt
  • 3rd Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Clint Jenkins
  • 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Del. Lashrecse Aird
  • 5th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Suzanne Long
  • 6th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Kym Crump
  • 7th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Abbi Easter
  • 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Margo Horner
  • 9th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Gary Hancock
  • 10th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Zach Pruckowski
  • 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee Chair: Robert Haley
  • Labor Caucus Chair: Julie Hunter
  • Associations of Local Chairs Chair: Clarence Tong
  • Democratic Black Caucus Chair: EJ Scott
  • Women's Caucus Chair: Linda Brooks
  • LGBT Democrats of Virginia Chair: Maggie Sacra
  • Veterans and Military Families Caucus Chair: Vacant
  • Virginia Young Democrats President: Maureen Coffey
  • DisAbility Caucus Chair: Cyliene Montgomery
  • Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia Chair: Praveen Meyyan
  • Democratic Latino Organization of Virginia President: Jonathan Dromgoogle
  • Rural Caucus Chair: Vee Frye
  • Small Business Caucus Chair: Mark Cannady
  • Immediate Past Chair: Dwight Jones

Staff
  • Executive Director: Andrew Whitley
  • Communications Director: Grant Fox
  • Deputy Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer: Brenner Tobe
  • Data Director: Katie O'Grady
  • Digital Director: Nick Scott
  • Finance Director: Carrie Hamilton
  • Chief Operations Officer: Elise Vess
  • Political Director: Shyam Raman
  • Deputy Political and Party Services Director: Khalid Naji
  • Voter Protection Director: Ja'Scotta Jefferson[4]

Current elected officials
Junior Senator Kaine
Senior Senator Warner

U.S. Senate

Democrats have controlled both of Virginia's seats in the U.S. Senate since 2008:

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the 11 seats Virginia is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, seven are held by Democrats:

Statewide offices

Democrats control all three elected statewide offices:

Legislative Leadership

List of chairs

Historical firsts
African Americans
Arab Americans
Asian Americans
  • First Korean American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Mark Keam
  • First Vietnamese American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Kathy Tran
  • First Filipino American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Kelly Fowler
Jewish Americans
Latino Americans
  • First Peruvian American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Elizabeth Guzmán
  • First Salvadoran American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Hala Ayala
  • First Mexican American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Kelly Fowler
LGBT
  • First openly gay member of the Senate of Virginia: Adam Paul Ebbin
  • First openly gay member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Adam Paul Ebbin
  • First openly lesbian member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Dawn M. Adams
  • First openly transgender member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Danica Roem
Women

See also

References
  2. "Contact Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine." Democratic Party of Virginia. Retrieved on May 13, 2010.
  3. https://vademocrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/DPVA-Party-Plan-September-2018.pdf
  4. "Staff". Democratic Party of Virginia. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
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