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Donald Caldwell
Donald Caldwell was a 2015 Independent candidate for District 21 of the Virginia State Senate.[1]
Biography
Caldwell graduated from Lord Botetourt High School and earned a degree from the Virginia Military Institute. His professional experience includes serving as Roanoke City's Commonwealth’s Attorney since 1979. He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1973 to 2004.[2]
Campaign themes
2015
Caldwell's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[3]
Public Pre-Kindergarten Education
- Excerpt: "He proposes launching local pilot programs for public pre-K starting in Southwest Virginia, funded by an increase in the cigarette tax. It accomplishes the goal of improving public health while directly reinvesting in our region’s future."
Access to Healthcare
- Excerpt: "That’s why as senator, Caldwell will join with Republicans and Democrats in creating a bipartisan legislative panel to expand healthcare for uninsured low-income Virginians. A healthy economy is a strong economy, and as senator, Caldwell will work across party lines to move forward on expanding health care."
Transportation Infrastructure
- Excerpt: "As senator, Caldwell would make it a priority to expand I-81 to three-lanes both northbound and southbound from the top of Christiansburg Mountain to the Exit 150-interchange in Botetourt County. There is no question that this will present a funding challenge, but Caldwell believes it may be time to form a Southwest Virginia Transportation Authority, similar to Northern Virginia, to address a funding methodology."
Virginia’s Energy Economy
- Excerpt: "Caldwell is focused on promoting our region’s energy economy, including coal, natural gas, and alternative fuels, and bringing energy jobs back to Southwest Virginia. He believes that our representatives must do a better job promoting Southwest Virginia’s energy economy in the General Assembly – our economy depends on it."
- Excerpt: "That’s why Caldwell has proposed a creative solution to bring the Mountain Valley Pipeline through our region – while at the same time protecting the environment and our citizens’ individual property rights. Under Caldwell’s plan, the pipeline would be built along existing highway easements. It would never cross a backyard. That way, we can improve our roads and highways, respect individual property rights, and bring much-needed energy jobs back to our region."
Elections
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.[4] 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.[5]
Race snapshot
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.[6] 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."[6] 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.[6] 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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Don Caldwell Virginia Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Virginia State Legislature
- Virginia State Senate
- Virginia Senate Committees
- Virginia state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Donald Caldwell on Facebook
- Donald Caldwell on Twitter
- Virginia General Assembly
Footnotes
- ↑ roanoke.com, "Roanoke region among races to watch in the fight for control of Virginia Senate," accessed June 17, 2015
- ↑ Caldwell for Senate, "About," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ Caldwell for Senate, "Priorities," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 General election candidates," accessed August 21, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Washington Post, "Defending one of rural Virginia’s last bits of blue," accessed October 22, 2015
- ↑ roanoke.com, "Don Caldwell enters race against John Edwards, Nancy Dye for Senate," accessed June 18, 2015
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, "Republican groups send cash surge into Nancy Dye's bid to unseat John Edwards," accessed October 22, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Public Access Project, "Cash on Hand," accessed October 22, 2015
