John Edwards (Virginia)

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John Edwards
Image of John Edwards

Virginia State Senate District 21

Tenure

1996 - Present

Term ends

2024

Years in position

26

Compensation

Base salary

$18,000/year

Per diem

$209/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2019

Education

High school

Patrick Henry High School

Bachelor's

Princeton University, 1966

Law

University of Virginia School of Law, 1970

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1971 - 1973

Personal
Religion
Lutheran (ELCA)
Profession
Attorney
Contact

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:

2014 legislative session[edit]

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

2012-2013[edit]

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

2010-2011[edit]

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

[edit]

The following table lists bills sponsored by this legislator. Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills sponsored by this person, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections[edit]

2019[edit]

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2019

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

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/John_Edwards__VA_-7_fixed.jpg

John Edwards (D)
 
65.5
 
26,877

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/unnamed-36.jpg

Steven Nelson (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
33.8
 
13,882
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
287

Total votes: 41,046
Candidate Connection = 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 Green check mark transparent.pngJohn 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
Green check mark transparent.png John Edwards) 22,282 98.16%
Write-in 416 1.83%

Campaign themes[edit]

2019[edit]

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Edwards did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

2015[edit]

Edwards' campaign website highlighted the following issues:[10]

Improving Transportation

  • Excerpt: "Infrastructure is the lifeblood of our economy and vital to ensuring we all get home safely each day. We need to continue to invest in improvements to provide the safest roads in the nation."

Increasing Access to the Ballot Box

  • Excerpt: "Edwards will keep working to ensure all Virginians age 65 and older can vote absentee without having to provide a reason or excuse. Edwards believes voting should be made more convenient, and not more burdensome."

Fighting the Pipeline

  • Excerpt: "Edwards has voiced opposition to plans to build the Mountain Valley Pipeline through our mountains and neighborhoods on both environmental and safety grounds."

Medicaid Health Care Expansion

  • Excerpt: "Accepting the Medicaid dollars we have already sent to Washington will grow our economy, create 30,000 new jobs, and provide up to 400,000 Virginians the health care they need."

Campaign donors[edit]

2011[edit]

In 2011, Edwards received $691,261 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.[11]

2007[edit]

Below are Edwards' top five campaign contributors in the 2007 election:

Contributor 2007 total
Karen K. Dabney $5,000
David & Mary Ann Wine $4,200
Virginia Bankers Association $4,000
Dominion (Energy & Natural Resources) $3,500
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield $3,000

Scorecards[edit]

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Virginia

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012

Personal[edit]

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Edwards was born in Roanoke, Virginia, on October 6, 1943. Edwards is a member of the Lutheran Church (E.L.C.A.).

See also[edit]


External links[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Virginia State Senate District 21
1996-Present
Succeeded by
-


Current members of the Virginia State Senate
Leadership
Majority Leader:Thomas Norment
Senators
District 1
T. Mason (D)
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
John Bell (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Democratic Party (21)
Republican Party (19)








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