John Edwards (Virginia)

John Edwards (Democratic Party) is a member of the Virginia State Senate, representing District 21. He assumed office in 1996. His current term ends on January 10, 2024.

Edwards (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Virginia State Senate to represent District 21. He won in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Biography[edit]

Edwards attended Patrick Henry High School. He received a A.B. at Princeton University in 1966 and attended Union Theological Seminary on a Rockefeller Brothers Theological Fellowship in New York in 1962. Edwards also received a J.D. at University of Virginia Law School in 1970. His professional experience includes working as an attorney. Edwards served in the United States Marine Corps as a Captain from 1971 to 1973.

Committee assignments[edit]

This membership information was last updated in March 2021. Ballotpedia completes yearly updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2020-2021

Edwards was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Edwards was assigned to the following committees:

2016 legislative session[edit]

At the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2016
• Courts of Justice
• Privileges and Elections
• Transportation

2015 legislative session[edit]

In the 2015 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2015
• Courts of Justice
• Privileges and Elections
• Transportation

2014 legislative session[edit]

In the 2014 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2014
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice
• Privileges and Elections

2012-2013[edit]

In the 2012-2013 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2012
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice
• Privileges and Elections

2010-2011[edit]

In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2010
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice
• Education and Health
• Privileges and Elections
• Senate Rules

Elections[edit]

2019[edit]

General election

General election for Virginia State Senate District 21

Incumbent John Edwards defeated Steven Nelson in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 21 on November 5, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Edwards (D)	65.5	26,877
	Steven Nelson (Independent)	33.8	13,882
	Other/Write-in votes	0.7	287

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,046
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015[edit]

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2015

Elections for the Virginia State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 9, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 26, 2015.^[1] Incumbent John S. Edwards was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Nancy Dye was unopposed in the Republican primary. Donald Caldwell (Independent) ran as a third party candidate. Edwards defeated Dye and Caldwell in the general election.^[2]

Race snapshot[edit]

In the only state Senate district in Southwest Virginia still held by a Democrat, Sen. Edwards fended off two challengers this general election. When Edwards was first elected to the chamber in 1995, four out of the six senators elected to the chamber from Southwest Virginia were Democrats.^[3] Because of this trend, Republican groups targeted District 21 as a seat up for grabs. David "Mudcat" Saunders, a Democratic strategist, said on the trend that, "In the far end of the county, you can’t find a Democrat with a search warrant."^[3] Edwards won re-election to the district in 2011 by a margin of victory of 12 percent. Edwards' opponents in the election were Republican Nancy Dye, a retired surgeon, and Independent Donald Caldwell, a long-time Democrat, and the longest serving commonwealth’s attorney in Roanoke.^[3] Bob Denton, a political analyst and head of Virginia Tech’s communications department, said that Caldwell's candidacy could boost Dye's campaign and provide the GOP with a potential upset.^[4]

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Dye raised $541,545, Edwards raised $478,662 and Caldwell raised $61,518 through September. In September, the Republican State Leadership Committee gave Dye a $90,000 check and the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus gave her campaign more than $66,000. Gov. Terry McAuliffe's PAC poured $52,500 into Edwards' campaign in September.^[5] As of September 30, 2015, Dye had the lead in the cash-on-hand battle. According to campaign finance reports, Dye had $157,479 in cash-on-hand, while Edwards had $138,848 and Caldwell had $35,280.^[6]

2011[edit]

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2011

On November 8, 2011, Edwards won re-election to District 21 of the Virginia State Senate. He defeated David Nutter (R) in the November 8 general election.^[7]

Virginia State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Edwards	56%	21,259
	Republican	David Nutter	44%	16,728
Total Votes				37,987

2007[edit]

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2007

On Nov. 6, 2007, Edwards won re-election to the 21st District Seat in the Virginia State Senate.^[8]

Edwards raised $123,889 for his campaign.^[9]

Virginia State Senate, District 21 (2007)
Candidates	Votes	Percent
John Edwards)	22,282	98.16%
Write-in	416	1.83%