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Dave Marsden

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Dave Marsden
Democratic Party
Virginia State Senate District 35
Tenure
2024 - Present
Term ends
2028
Years in position
2
Predecessor: Dick Saslaw (D)
Prior offices:
Virginia State Senate District 37
Years in office: 2010 - 2024
Successor: Saddam Salim (D)
Compensation
Base salary
$18,000/year
Per diem
$237/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 7, 2023
Personal
Birthplace
Alexandria, VA
Religion
Protestant/Methodist
Profession
Consultant
Contact
Official website
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Personal LinkedIn

Dave Marsden (Democratic Party) is a member of the Virginia State Senate, representing District 35. He assumed office on January 10, 2024. His current term ends on January 12, 2028.

Marsden (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Virginia State Senate to represent District 35. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Dave Marsden was born in Alexandria, Virginia. Marsden's career experience includes working as superintendent of Fairfax County's Juvenile Detention Center from 2000 to 2002.[1]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Marsden was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Marsden was assigned to the following committees:

2020-2021

Marsden was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Marsden was assigned to the following committees:

2016 legislative session

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

Virginia committee assignments, 2016
• Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
• Local Government
• Transportation

2015 legislative session

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

2014 legislative session

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

2012-2013

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

2010-2011

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

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

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2023

General election

General election for Virginia State Senate District 35

Incumbent Dave Marsden defeated Mark Vafiades in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 35 on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dave Marsden
Dave Marsden (D)
 
67.6
 
39,441
Image of Mark Vafiades
Mark Vafiades (R) Candidate Connection
 
32.0
 
18,677
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
198

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

Total votes: 58,316
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.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 35

Incumbent Dave Marsden defeated Heidi Drauschak in the Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 35 on June 20, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dave Marsden
Dave Marsden
 
62.7
 
12,179
Image of Heidi Drauschak
Heidi Drauschak Candidate Connection
 
37.3
 
7,260

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

Total votes: 19,439
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. Mark Vafiades advanced from the Republican primary for Virginia State Senate District 35.

Endorsements

Marsden received the following endorsements.

2019

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2019

General election

General election for Virginia State Senate District 37

Incumbent Dave Marsden won election in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 37 on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dave Marsden
Dave Marsden (D)
 
90.3
 
41,278
 Other/Write-in votes
 
9.7
 
4,439

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

Total votes: 45,717
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

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.[2] Incumbent Dave Marsden was unopposed in the Democratic primary. David Bergman was unopposed in the Republican primary. Marsden defeated Bergman in the general election.[3]

Virginia State Senate, District 37 General Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDave Marsden Incumbent 55.5% 18,966
     Republican David Bergman 44.5% 15,216
Total Votes 34,182

2011

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2011

On November 8, 2011, Marsden won re-election to District 37 of the Virginia State Senate. He was unopposed in the August 23 primary and defeated Jason Flanary (R) in the November 8 general election.[4]

Virginia State Senate, District 37 General Election, 2011
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDave Marsden Incumbent 53.8% 19,841
     Republican Jason Flanary 46.2% 17,036
Total Votes 36,877

Fundraising

Marsden and fellow Democratic incumbent George Barker received more money from the Democratic Party of Virginia than any other Senate candidate through the September 30, 2011 filing period.[5]

2010

On January 12, 2010, Marsden won election to the 37th District Seat in the Virginia State Senate, defeating opponent Stephen Hunt.[6]

Virginia State Senate, District 37 (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Dave Marsden (D) 11,954 50.64%
Steve Hunt(R) 11,627 49.26%

2009

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2009

On November 3, 2009, Marsden won re-election to the 41st District of the Virginia House of Delegates.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Dave Marsden did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Dave Marsden did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

2011

Marsden's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

  • Education
Excerpt: "Fairfax County schools are the best in the Nation and I will do everything in my power to help keep them that way. It is critical that we give our teachers and students the resources they need to succeed."
  • Taxes - Cutting Waste
Excerpt: "I believe we have to hold the line on taxes and cut wasteful spending. Finding the balance between providing quality services, without burdening families and businesses is critical."
  • Transportation
Excerpt: "Improving transportation in Northern Virginia is and always has been a priority of mine. As a member of the Transportation Committee, I will keep working to make our roads, rails and buses safer and more accessible."
  • Business
Excerpt: "Virginia is a great place to do business and we need to keep it that way. That starts with investing in our infrastructure and community—but doing so in a fiscally responsible manner."

2009

Marsden's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

  • Taxes
Excerpt: "I believe in holding the line on taxes and working across party lines for a fiscally responsible budget."
  • Transportation:
Excerpt: "I am working on attacking the traffic problem from all angles, including a steady, dedicated reliable funding stream to improve all forms of transportation."
  • Education:
Excerpt: "I want to continue supporting Fairfax schools by protecting current funding levels and working to keep them among the best in the nation."
  • Crime
Excerpt: "I want to continue use the skills and lessons I’ve learned from three decades in juvenile justice to craft a tough strategy that suppresses Northern Virginia’s youth gangs and prevents them from spreading deeper into our community."

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.

Dave Marsden campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2023Virginia State Senate District 35Won general$1,208,660 $1,139,928
2019Virginia State Senate District 37Won general$367,588 N/A**
Grand total$1,576,248 $1,139,928
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.

See also

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External links

Candidate

Virginia State Senate District 35
  • Website
  • Facebook
    		•

    Officeholder

    Virginia State Senate District 35
  • Website
    		•

    Personal

  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Senate of Virginia, "David W. Marsden," accessed January 8, 2024
    2. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
    3. ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 General election candidates," accessed August 21, 2015
    4. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014
    5. ↑ Washington Examiner, "Democrats boost spending in N.Va. Senate races," October 29, 2011
    6. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2010 Special Election Results, Virginia Senate, District 37," accessed May 28, 2014

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Dick Saslaw (D)     		Virginia State Senate District 35
    2024-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Virginia State Senate District 37
    2010-2024    		 Succeeded by
    Saddam Salim (D)


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