Marleen Durfee was a 2015 Independent Green candidate for District 10 of the Virginia State Senate.[1]
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.[2] Daniel Gecker defeated Emily Francis and Alex McMurtrie in the Democratic primary.[3] Glen Sturtevant was unopposed in the Republican primary.[4] Carl Loser (Libertarian) and Marleen Durfee (Independent) ran as third party candidates. Sturtevant defeated Gecker, Durfee and Loser in the general election.[5]
Gecker and Sturtevant served on the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors and the Richmond School Board, respectively. They sought to succeed outgoing incumbent John Watkins (R) in a race that analysts consider a tossup.[6] Both candidates were considered to have bipartisan appeal, and Watkins was known for going against his party on occasion.[7][8] District 10 was considered a swing district due to its inclusion of respective Democratic and Republican strongholds in urban Richmond and rural Powhatan, and a Republican lean in parts of suburban Chesterfield. Through September 2015, Sturtevant raised $772,000, while Gecker raised $1.2 million.[9]
Following the August on-air shooting death of Roanoke television journalist Alison Parker and her cameraman, Adam Ward, a national gun control advocacy group sought to spend $700,000 in advertising in the open District 10 race in October. On October 21, television stations began airing "Condolences," a 30-second spot by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and featuring Parker's father, Andy. The group targeted Republican Glen Sturtevant, who in comparison raised about $56,000 from the National Rifle Association and $772,000 in total. According to Robert Holsworth of Virginia Commonwealth University, "For one group to put $700,000 into one-issue ads has to be unprecedented in state Senate races, particularly for a group from outside Virginia."[10] The group said at least $370,000 would be spent on broadcast television before spending on cable, radio and digital advertising.[11]
Sturtevant replied with his own advertisement, which referred to Bloomberg by name and expressed "support [for] zero tolerance for gun violence." A campaign press release said that the advertisement demonstrated "how dependent the desperate campaign of Democrat Dan Gecker now is on massive spending from an out-of-state billionaire."[12]
Virginia State Senate, District 10 Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
---|---|---|
Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
Emily Francis | 34.3% | 3,487 |
Alex McMurtrie | 19.2% | 1,957 |
Daniel Gecker | 46.5% | 4,730 |
Total Votes | 10,174 |
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