John Edwards (Virginia)
John Edwards (Democratic Party) was a member of the Virginia State Senate, representing District 21. He assumed office in 1996. He left office 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
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
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Edwards was assigned to the following committees:
- Commerce and Labor Committee
- Education and Health Committee
- Finance and Appropriations Committee
- Judiciary Committee, Co-Chair
- Senate Rules Committee
2020-2021
Edwards was assigned to the following committees:
- Commerce and Labor Committee
- Education and Health Committee
- Finance and Appropriations Committee
- Judiciary Committee, Chair
- Senate Rules Committee
2019-2020
Edwards was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Courts of Justice Committee
- Senate Privileges and Elections Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
2016 legislative session
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
In the 2015 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Courts of Justice |
| • Privileges and Elections |
| • Transportation |
2014 legislative session
In the 2014 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2014 |
|---|
| • Commerce and Labor |
| • Courts of Justice |
| • Privileges and Elections |
2012-2013
In the 2012-2013 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Commerce and Labor |
| • Courts of Justice |
| • Privileges and Elections |
2010-2011
In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Edwards served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Commerce and Labor |
| • Courts of Justice |
| • Education and Health |
| • Privileges and Elections |
| • Senate Rules |
Sponsored legislation
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
Edwards announced that he would not seek re-election.[1]
2019
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 | ||
| ✔ |  | John Edwards (D) | 65.5 | 26,877 |
 | Steven Nelson (Independent)  | 33.8 | 13,882 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 287 | ||
| Total votes: 41,046 | |||
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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 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.[3]
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.[4] 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."[4] 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.[4] 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.[5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
2011
- 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.[8]
| Virginia State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Edwards |
56% | 21,259 | |
| Republican | David Nutter | 44% | 16,728 | |
| Total Votes | 37,987 | |||
2007
- 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.[9]
Edwards raised $123,889 for his campaign.[10]
| Virginia State Senate, District 21 (2007) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| John Edwards)
|
22,282 | 98.16% | ||
| Write-in | 416 | 1.83% | ||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Edwards did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
2015
Edwards' campaign website highlighted the following issues:[11]
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 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.
Scorecards
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.
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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.
2023
In 2023, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to February 25.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the manufacturing sector.
2022
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In 2022, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 12.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to February 8.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 12. A special session was held from August 18 to November 9.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through February 24.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 10 through March 10. Special sessions were held from April 11 to May 30 and from August 30 to October 30.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through February 25.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 13 through March 11.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 14 to February 28, 2015.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 10.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 9 to February 25.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Virginia General Assembly was in regular session from January 11 to March 10.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Edwards was born in Roanoke, Virginia, on October 6, 1943. Edwards has been a member of the Lutheran Church (E.L.C.A.).
See also
2019 Elections
External links
|
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ https://cardinalnews.org/2023/02/27/sen-john-edwards-is-retiring/ Cardinal News, "Sen. John Edwards is retiring," accessed March 19, 2023]
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 6, 2007 General Election Official Results," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2007 Campaign contributions," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ John Edwards for Virginia Senate District 21, "Issues," accessed October 21, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Virginia State Senate District 21 1996-2024 |
Succeeded by Angelia Williams Graves (D) |
