Jennifer Wexton
Jennifer T. Wexton | |
|---|---|
| Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 10th district | |
| Assuming office January 3, 2019 | |
| Succeeding | Barbara Comstock |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the 33rd district | |
| Assumed office January 24, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Herring |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jennifer Lynn Tosini May 27, 1968 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Andrew Wexton (m. 2001) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park (BA) College of William and Mary (JD) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Jennifer Lynn Wexton (née Tosini; born May 27, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia who has represented the 33rd district in the State Senate since 2014. The district includes northeastern Loudoun County and northwestern Fairfax County. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the United States representative-elect for Virginia's 10th congressional district, having defeated Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock.
Early life and education
Wexton is from Leesburg, Virginia. Her father and mother were senior economists at the United States Department of the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively.[1]
Wexton received a BA from the University of Maryland, College Park. She then enrolled at William & Mary School of Law] and received a Juris Doctor in 1995.[1][2] At William & Mary, she was a member of Phi Delta Phi, a legal honor society.[3]
Early career
Wexton is a partner in the Laurel Brigade Law Group. She has served as a substitute judge in Loudoun County, Virginia, and, since 2001[4] as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney. She successfully prosecuted Clara Jane Schwartz for the murder of Schwartz's father, Robert Schwartz.[5] Wexton ran for Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney in 2011, losing to incumbent Jim Plowman.[6][7]
Virginia Senate
After Mark Herring, who represented the 33rd district in the Virginia Senate, won the 2013 election to serve as the Attorney General of Virginia, Wexton declared her candidacy in the special election to fill the seat.[6] In the Democratic primary, Wexton defeated Herndon Town Councilor Sheila Olem.[8] In a campaign ad, Wexton spoke of her experience defending victims of rape and assault, and said she would "fight just as hard against tea party Republicans who would take away a woman's health care and her right to choose, even in cases of rape and incest". The Republican Party of Virginia criticized the ad, saying it compared Tea Party activists to rapists; Wexton's campaign denied the comparison.[9] She faced Republican John Whitbeck and Republican-turned-Independent Joe T. May in the January 2014 special election, and won 53%–38%–10%.[10] She assumed office on January 24, 2014,[11] and was reelected in the November 2015 general election. After being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Wexton will have to resign her seat in the Virginia Senate by January 3, 2019, in order to be sworn in as a U.S. Representative.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In April 2017, Wexton announced that she would run in the Democratic primary for the 10th District.[12] Her state senate district includes much of the eastern portion of the congressional district, wrapping around Leesburg and Sterling. In June 2018, she won a six-way primary to become the Democratic nominee for the November 2018 general election,[13] in which she defeated Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock,[14] taking 56 percent of the vote to Comstock's 44 percent.[15] When she takes office in January 2019, she will be only the fifth person to represent the district since its creation in 1953, and the second Democrat.[citation needed]
Political positions
Shortly after defeating Comstock, Wexton declared her support for DC Statehood. Wexton said "the fact that D.C. residents pay taxes and don't get any representation is absurd, and I think that we should make sure they get voting representation." DC's non-voting Congressional Delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, thanked Wexton for her comments.[16]
Personal life
Wexton married Andrew Wexton in 2001, at the age of 33.[1] The couple has two sons.[8]
Electoral history
| Date | Election | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney | |||||
| November 8, 2011[17] | General | James E. "Jim" Plowman | Republican | 26,050 | 51.83 |
| Jennifer T. Wexton | Democratic | 24,104 | 47.96 | ||
| Write Ins | 101 | 0.20 | |||
| Republican incumbent reelected | |||||
| Virginia Senate, 33rd District | |||||
| January 21, 2014[18] | General Special | Jennifer T. Wexton | Democratic | 11,431 | 52.72 |
| John C. L. Whitbeck, Jr. | Republican | 8,133 | 37.51 | ||
| Joe T. May | Independent | 2,117 | 9.76 | ||
| Write Ins | 3 | 0.01 | |||
| Mark Herring resigned; seat remained Democratic | |||||
| November 3, 2015[19] | General | Jennifer T. Wexton | Democratic | 18,577 | 56.60 |
| Stephen B. Hollingshead | Republican | 14,190 | 43.23 | ||
| Write Ins | 54 | 0.16 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Wexton | 22,405 | 41.89 | |
| Democratic | Alison Friedman | 12,283 | 22.96 | |
| Democratic | Lindsey Davis Stover | 8,567 | 16.02 | |
| Democratic | Dan Helmer | 6,712 | 12.55 | |
| Democratic | Paul Pelletier | 2,010 | 3.76 | |
| Democratic | Julia Biggins | 1,513 | 2.83 | |
| Total votes | 53,490 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Wexton | 206,356 | 56.1 | ||
| Republican | Barbara Comstock (incumbent) | 160,841 | 43.7 | ||
| n/a | Write-ins | 598 | 0.2 | ||
| Total votes | 367,795 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
References
- ^ a b c "WEDDINGS; Jennifer Tosini, Andrew Wexton". The New York Times. May 27, 2001. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ "Report of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law 1997-1998". William & Mary Law School. 1998. p. 72. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2014.
- ^ "Jennifer L. Tosini". Phi Delta Phi. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ Portnoy, Jenna (April 20, 2017). "Democrat Jennifer Wexton says she will challenge Rep. Barbara Comstock". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2017.[dead link]
- ^ Echtenkamp, Jon (October 15, 2002). "Fantasy, reality collide at murder trial". Fairfax Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Gibson, Caitlin (November 13, 2013). "Leesburg attorney Jennifer Wexton announces bid for Herring's Senate seat". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ Gibson, Caitlin (November 9, 2011). "Incumbents fare well in many Northern Va. races, but Loudoun is an exception". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Baratko, Trevor (November 24, 2013). "Wexton wins Democratic primary to replace Herring in Virginia Senate". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ Gibson, Caitlin (January 9, 2014). "Va. GOP takes offense at Wexton's state Senate campaign ad". The Washington Post.
- ^ Baratko, Trevor (January 21, 2014). "Jennifer Wexton wins Virginia Senate special election to succeed Mark Herring". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ "Democrat Wexton joins Senate - Richmond Times-Dispatch: Local Government & Politics". Timesdispatch.com. May 15, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ^ Portnoy, Jenna (April 20, 2017). "Democrat Jennifer Wexton says she will challenge Rep. Barbara Comstock". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ Portnoy, Jenna (June 12, 2018). "State Sen. Jennifer Wexton wins the Democratic race to run against Rep. Comstock". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ Portnoy, Jenna (November 6, 2018). "Democrat Jennifer T. Wexton defeats Rep. Barbara Comstock, turning a GOP stronghold district in Virginia blue". Washington Post. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ Virginia House election results from CNN
- ^ Delgadillo, Natalie (November 8, 2018). "Virginia's Jennifer Wexton Comes Out In Support Of D.C. Statehood". WAMU. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ "Election Results - Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney - Nov11 General Election". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Special General Election - January 28, 2014". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "General Election - November 3, 2015". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "2018 June Democratic Primary". Results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ "Official Results". 2018 November General. Virginia Department of Elections. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
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