Joseph Morrissey

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Joseph Morrissey
Democratic Party
Prior offices:
Virginia State Senate District 16
Years in office: 2020 - 2024
Predecessor: Roz Dance (D)
Successor: Schuyler VanValkenburg (D)
Virginia House of Delegates District 74
Years in office: 2015 - 2015
Years in office: 2008 - 2015
Elections and appointments
Last election
June 20, 2023
Education
Bachelor's
University of Virginia
Other
Trinity College, Dublin
Law
Georgetown University Law Center, 1982
Personal
Religion
Christian: Catholic
Profession
Business
Contact
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Personal Facebook

Joseph Morrissey (Democratic Party) (also known as Joe) was a member of the Virginia State Senate, representing District 16. He assumed office on January 8, 2020. He left office on January 10, 2024.

Morrissey (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 4th Congressional District. He lost in the special Democratic convention on December 20, 2022.

Morrissey also ran for re-election to the Virginia State Senate to represent District 13. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 20, 2023.

Biography

Morrissey earned his B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia in 1979, his J.D. from Georgetown University Law School in 1982, and his L.L.M. from Trinity College, Dublin in 2003.

Morrissey is a businessman. He worked as a law school teacher in Ireland and Australia from 2001 to 2006, ran a private law practice from 1993 to 2000, and worked as a Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Richmond from 1990 to 1993.[1]

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Morrissey was assigned to the following committees:

2020-2021

Morrissey was assigned to the following committees:

2015 legislative session

Note: In the 2015 legislative session, Morrissey was not assigned to any standing committees.

2014 legislative session

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

2012-2013

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

2010-2011

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

Issues

  • HB 1811 Deferred disposition; allows court to defer & dismiss any criminal case other than Class 4 felonies.
  • HB 1814 Plastic bags; bans use by retailers at point of sale unless designed & manufactured for reuse.
  • HB 2318 Firearms; any person who sells three or more firearms at show be licensed as a firearms dealer.[2]

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


Elections

2023

Regular election

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2023

General election

General election for Virginia State Senate District 13

Lashrecse Aird defeated Eric Ditri in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 13 on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lashrecse Aird
Lashrecse Aird (D)
 
59.8
 
35,472
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Eric Ditri (R)
 
40.0
 
23,727
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
98

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 59,297
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 13

Lashrecse Aird defeated incumbent Joseph Morrissey in the Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 13 on June 20, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lashrecse Aird
Lashrecse Aird
 
70.0
 
15,297
Image of Joseph Morrissey
Joseph Morrissey
 
30.0
 
6,557

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 21,854
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Eric Ditri advanced from the Republican primary for Virginia State Senate District 13.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Morrissey in this election.

Special election

See also: Virginia's 4th Congressional District special election, 2023

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Jennifer McClellan defeated Leon Benjamin Sr. in the special general election for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on February 21, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer McClellan (D)
 
74.4
 
82,040
Image of Leon Benjamin Sr.
Leon Benjamin Sr. (R)
 
25.5
 
28,083
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
129

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 110,252
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

Special Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Jennifer McClellan defeated Joseph Morrissey, Tavorise Marks, and Joseph Preston in the special Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on December 20, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer McClellan (D)
 
84.8
 
23,661
Image of Joseph Morrissey
Joseph Morrissey (D)
 
13.6
 
3,782
Image of Tavorise Marks
Tavorise Marks (D)
 
0.8
 
217
Image of Joseph Preston
Joseph Preston (D)
 
0.6
 
174
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
66

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 27,900
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican convention

Special Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Leon Benjamin Sr. defeated Derrick Hollie in the special Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on December 17, 2022.

Candidate
✔
Image of Leon Benjamin Sr.
Leon Benjamin Sr. (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Derrick Hollie (R)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2019

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2019

General election

General election for Virginia State Senate District 16

Joseph Morrissey defeated Waylin Ross in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joseph Morrissey
Joseph Morrissey (D)
 
63.8
 
29,304
Image of Waylin Ross
Waylin Ross (Independent)
 
34.3
 
15,725
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.9
 
882

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 45,911
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 16

Joseph Morrissey defeated incumbent Roz Dance in the Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 16 on June 11, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joseph Morrissey
Joseph Morrissey
 
56.0
 
8,741
Image of Roz Dance
Roz Dance
 
44.0
 
6,873
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
6

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 15,620
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015

State Senate

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.[3] Incumbent Rosalyn Dance defeated Joseph Preston in the Democratic primary. No Republican candidates filed for election. Joseph Morrissey ran as a third party independent candidate but withdrew from the race on September 10, 2015, due to a health problem.[4] Morrissey remained on the ballot, however. Dance defeated Morrissey in the general election.[5]

Virginia State Senate, District 16 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRosalyn Dance Incumbent 62% 4,967
Joseph Preston 38% 3,039
Total Votes 8,006


State House

See also: Virginia state legislative special elections, 2015

Joseph Morrissey (I) defeated Kevin J. Sullivan (D) and Matt D. Walton (R) in the special election on January 13, 2015.[6][7]

The seat was vacant following Joseph Morrissey's (D) resignation on January 13, 2015, following his misdemeanor conviction on December 12, 2014 of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.[8]

Morrissey's re-election drew controversy from both sides of the aisle. Leaders from both parties indicated that he may be expelled from the chamber or censured when the legislature convened its session on January 14, 2015, though no such motion was ever passed.[7] Sen. Chap Petersen (D), who also works as a private attorney, suggested the legislature may be unable to do anything since the criminal action occurred prior to his re-election.[9][10]

A special election for the position of Virginia House of Delegates District 74 was called for January 13. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 23, 2014.[11]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 74, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Independent Green check mark transparent.pngJoseph Morrissey Incumbent 42.4% 2,840
     Democratic Kevin J. Sullivan 33.4% 2,242
     Republican Matt D. Walton 24.2% 1,622
Total Votes 6,704

2013

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2013

Morrissey won re-election in the 2013 election for Virginia House of Delegates District 74. Morrissey ran unopposed in the June 11 Democratic primary. He was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 5, 2013.[12]

2011

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2011

On November 8, 2011, Morrissey won re-election to District 74 of the Virginia House of Delegates. He was uncontested in the August 23 primary and defeated Dwayne Whitehead (I) in the November 8 general election.[13]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 74 General Election, 2011
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJoseph Morrissey Incumbent 73.2% 11,717
     Independent Dwayne Whitehead 26.8% 4,299
Total Votes 16,016

2009

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2009

In 2009, Morrissey was re-elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.[14]

Virginia House of Delegates General Election, District (2009)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Joseph Morrissey (D) 14,605
Michael Gage(R) 4,537

Campaign themes

2023

Regular election

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joseph Morrissey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

Special election

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joseph Morrissey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Joseph Morrissey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

2007

Morrissey's answers to the Virginia State Legislative Election 2007 National Political Awareness Test are available. He listed his top priorities as:[15]

  • 1. eliminate pay day loans
  • 2. eliminate/repeal abusive driver fees
  • 3. strong SCC supervision for any electric hike request

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Joseph Morrissey campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2023Virginia State Senate District 13Lost primary$728,300 $792,061
2019Virginia State Senate District 16Won general$218,200 N/A**
Grand total$946,500 $792,061
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, 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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2025.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2016.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2015.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2014.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2013.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Virginia General Assembly in 2012.

Noteworthy events

Grand Jury Indictment

On June 30, 2014, a grand jury issued five indictments on felony charges of indecent liberties with a minor, possession of pornographic images of an underage female and of solicitation to obtain the images. Special prosecutor William Neely alleged that Morrissey had sex with a 17 year-old girl twice in his law office and texted someone about it. Morrissey's attorneys said that a secretary in the representative's law office erroneously claimed the girl was 22 and that no sexual activity took place.[16] He was convicted of a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 12 months in jail with six months suspended.[17] Gov. Ralph Northam (D) pardoned Morrissey on January 13, 2022.[18]

Felony Charges

A week after winning a special election to fill his own seat, Morrissey faced more criminal charges stemming from his relationship with a then-17-year-old receptionist from his office and the steps he took to explain his actions. Special Prosecutor William Neely announced on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, that Morrissey had been charged with four felony counts for perjury and forgery of court documents. According to Neely, the child support documents Morrissey used to explain his midnight encounter with the underage girl were made up. On December 12, 2014, Morrissey entered an Alford plea for a misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor charge. During his plea hearing, his defense entered into evidence a Chesterfield JDR child support order to prove his claim that the underage girl was at his house at midnight to discuss her father's failure to comply with court-ordered child support. But, according to the Commonwealth, the child support order was falsified by Morrissey.[19] Morrissey was also being charged with persuading the girl's mother to vouch for the authenticity of the document in court. Deidre Warren, the girl's mother, is also facing perjury and forgery charges stemming from the plea hearing.[20] His plea agreement covered all existing charges against Morrissy and requires him to spend his nights in jail.[21] But, his plea agreement did not cover any new crimes, which is why Neely was able to bring additional charges against the Delegate. Morrissey turned himself into the Henrico County Jail on January 21st following the indictments. His bail was set at $2,000.[19]

Photo

On May 14, 2015, Morrissey handed a photo to a reporter of himself, the teenage secretary with which he was accused of having a sexual affair and her baby.[22] The reporter, Joe St. George with WTVR CBS 6 in Richmond, uploaded the photo to Twitter, eliciting confused questions from followers as to whether it was an admission of paternity by Morrissey, who had previously denied having an affair and impregnating the staffer. The reporter responded on Twitter that Morrissey had simply handed him the photo and said, "see you later." The photo features the three dressed in period costumes. The reverse of the photo, which was also posted to Twitter, contained a note that read, "To: Channe [sic] 6 From Myrna and Joe," with additional text scribbled out.[23]

The mother gave birth to the child in mid-March 2015, shortly after the former delegate completed a jail stint following an Alford plea to charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She also appeared with Morrissey when he announced he planned to challenge Roz Dance in the Democratic primary for District 16 of the Virginia State Senate.[23][24] Morrissey failed to qualify for the Democratic primary ballot due to insufficient valid signatures and so will run for the Senate as an independent.[25]

On May 20, 2015, Morrissey confirmed during a radio program that he fathered a baby with his former secretary.[26]

Noteworthy events

Arrest, assault and battery charges (2023)

On September 16, 2023, Morrissey was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery following an altercation with his estranged wife’s sister at a youth football game. [27]

See also

2023 Elections

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External links

Candidate

Virginia State Senate District 13
  • Website
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed May 28, 2014
    2. ↑ Legislative Information System, "Bill Tracking," accessed May 28, 2014
    3. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
    4. ↑ dailypress.com, "Formerly jailed lawmaker Joe Morrissey drops out of state Senate race," accessed September 11, 2015
    5. ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 General election candidates," accessed August 21, 2015
    6. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed December 30, 2014
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Washington Post, "Morrissey, in midst of six-month jail term, wins special election to Virginia House," January 13, 2015
    8. ↑ NBC Washington, "Va. Lawmaker Joseph D. Morrissey Resigning After Teen Sex Case," December 18, 2014
    9. ↑ Washington Post, "Jailed Del. Joseph Morrissey is sworn in as Virginia legislative session gets underway," January 14, 2015
    10. ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Official election results," accessed January 28, 2015
    11. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "Special elections," accessed December 30, 2014
    12. ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, “Official Results - 2013 General Election," accessed December 2, 2013
    13. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014
    14. ↑ Follow the Money, "Virginia House of Delegates 2009 General Election Results," accessed May 15, 2014
    15. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Issue Positions," accessed May 28, 2014
    16. ↑ nbc12.com, "Del. Joe Morrissey charged with sex with teen receptionist," June 30, 2014
    17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nbcwashington
    18. ↑ The Progress-Index, "Northam’s last day in office sees him pardon state Sen. Joe Morrissey for 2014 conviction," January 14, 2022
    19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Loren Thomas, Newsplex.com, "Joe Morrissey Charged with Forgery, Perjury," January 21, 2015
    20. ↑ The Associated Press, AL.com, "Newly re-elected Virginia lawmaker Joe Morrissey, convicted in sex scandal, indicted again," January 21, 2015
    21. ↑ Jenna Portnoy and Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post, "Virginia lawmaker Joseph D. Morrissey faces new criminal charges," January 21, 2015
    22. ↑ Anna Merlan, Jezebel, "Pol Who Denied Affair with Teenage Staffer Hands Reporter a Baby Photo," May 15, 2015
    23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Joe St. George and Scott Wise, WTVR CBS 6, "Joe Morrissey’s old timey photo raises questions months after baby’s birth," May 14, 2015
    24. ↑ Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post, "Joe Morrissey announces Virginia state Senate campaign," March 25, 2015
    25. ↑ The Washington Post, "Morrissey to seek Va. Senate seat as an independent," April 14, 2015
    26. ↑ nbc12.com, "Joe Morrissey confirms child with former receptionist," accessed May 21, 2015
    27. ↑ ‘’WRIC ABC 8 (Richmond, Virginia),’’ “State Sen. Joe Morrissey, sister-in-law arrested after fight at youth football game in Chester,” September 21, 2023

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Roz Dance (D)     		Virginia State Senate District 16
    2020-2024    		 Succeeded by
    Schuyler VanValkenburg (D)
    Preceded by
    -     		Virginia House of Delegates District 74
    2015-2015    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Virginia House of Delegates District 74
    2008-2015    		 Succeeded by
    -


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