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Mark Keam
Mark Keam (Democratic Party) was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 35. He assumed office in 2010. He left office on September 6, 2022.
Keam (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 35. He won in the general election on November 2, 2021.
Keam resigned on September 6, 2022, to take a job in the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.[1]
Biography
Keam earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Irvine and his J.D. from the University of Hastings, College of Law in 1995.[2]
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.
2020-2021
Keam was assigned to the following committees:
- House Courts of Justice Committee
- Education Committee
- House Finance Committee, Vice chair
- Labor and Commerce Committee
2019-2020
Keam was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee
- Labor and Commerce Committee
- Education Committee
- House Finance Committee
2016 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, Keam served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2016 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources |
| • Commerce and Labor |
| • Education |
| • Finance |
2015 legislative session
In the 2015 legislative session, Keam served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources |
| • Commerce and Labor |
| • Education |
| • Finance |
2014 legislative session
In the 2014 legislative session, Keam served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2014 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources |
| • Courts of Justice |
| • Education |
| • Finance |
2012-2013
In the 2012-2013 legislative session, Keam served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Finance |
2010-2011
In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Keam served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Finance |
| • Militia, Police and Public Safety |
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
2021
See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2021
General election
General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 35
Incumbent Mark Keam defeated Kevin McGrath in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 35 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mark Keam (D) | 68.7 | 24,226 |
| Kevin McGrath (R) | 31.1 | 10,975 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 49 | ||
| Total votes: 35,250 | |||
 = 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
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Mark Keam advanced from the Democratic primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 35.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Kevin McGrath advanced from the Republican primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 35.
Campaign finance
2019
See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019
General election
General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 35
Incumbent Mark Keam won election in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 35 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Keam (D) | 92.8 | 17,198 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 7.2 | 1,344 | ||
| Total votes: 18,542 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2017
General election
Elections for the Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2017. All 100 house seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for primary election candidates was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for non-party candidates and candidates nominated by methods other than a primary was June 13, 2017.[3] Incumbent Mark Keam (D) ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 35 general election.[4]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 35 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Mark Keam Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 22,596 | |
| Total Votes | 22,596 | |||
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections | ||||
Democratic primary election
Incumbent Mark Keam ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 35 Democratic primary.[5]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 35 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Mark Keam Incumbent | ||
Republican primary election
No Republican candidate filed to run for this seat. [6]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 35 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
2015
Elections for the Virginia House of Delegates 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.[7] Incumbent Mark Keam was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[8][9]
2013
Keam won re-election in the 2013 election for Virginia House of Delegates District 35. Keam ran unopposed in the June 11th Democratic primary. He defeated Leiann Leppin Luse (R) in the general election on November 5, 2013.[10]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 35 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Mark Keam Incumbent |
64.7% | 14,632 | |
| Republican | Leiann Leppin Luse | 35.2% | 7,961 | |
| Other | Write-in | 0.2% | 38 | |
| Total Votes | 22,631 | |||
Race snapshot
After running unopposed in 2011 but only winning his seat by a margin of less than 400 votes in 2009, Mark Keam (D) faced a Republican challenger in 2013. Luse, a project manager and analyst, hoped to unseat this two-term Democratic incumbent, but the district awarded President Barack Obama (D) with 59 percent of the vote in 2012 and Governor Bob McDonnell (R) with 49 percent in 2009. Republicans would have needed to have a very good election night to win this district from a Democratic candidate.[11][12]
2011
On November 8, 2011, Keam won re-election to District 35 of the Virginia House of Delegates. He was uncontested in the August 23 primary and ran unopposed in the November 8 general election.[13]
2009
In 2009, Keam was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He defeated James Hyland in the General Election.[14]
| Virginia House of Delegates General Election, District 35 (2009) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Mark Kirk (D)
|
12,606 | |||
| James Hyland (R) | 12,252 | |||
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mark Keam did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Mark Keam did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Ballotpedia candidate survey
Keam participated in a survey created by Ballotpedia. The survey was designed to let our readers know more about the candidates and feel confident that they are voting for the best person to represent them. The survey questions appear bolded, and Keam's responses follow below.
| “ | Approximately 83,000 residents in Fairfax County in the neighborhoods of Tysons, Dunn Loring, Vienna, Oakton, Penderbrook, Fair Oaks and Fairfax.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | To serve as a bridge between the state government and individual Virginians who pay for the government to exist and to serve their essential needs.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | Over the past 8 years that I have been in office, I have built strong working relationships with various government, civic, social and business institutions within my legislative district as well as with thousands of individual constituents. The groups I work closely with include civic and homeowners associations, service clubs such as Rotary, Optimist and Lions, veterans serving organizations such as American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans, school-related and PTA groups, cause-oriented ones such as Sierra Club, NARAL, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Art Society, Vienna Woman's Club, Historic Vienna, as well as faith-based houses of worship and chambers of commerce.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | As an elected official, I work to promote candor, transparency and accountability in government, and availability and open-mindedness in my work. I believe we have to articulate and stand on principals that we believe in, but not be so ideologically rigid that we cannot work with those with whom we disagree.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | I believe that a strong local economy is the backbone to providing high quality of life for residents of that community. With a robust economy that encourages investment and job creation, working-age population in the community will have more job opportunities which allow them to provide better for their families, find adequate housing and invest in their children's education and their own retirement. While the state government has limited ability to create jobs outside of the public sector, it can legislate and regulate in a way that provides more certainty for businesses to plan long-term, and my goal is to work on public policies that encourage growth in the economy so we do not have to continue to raise taxes or to cut essential programs in order to balance the budget.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | First, we need to remember that the executive and legislative branches have co-equal relationship, not a subservient one. That means the Governor can suggest policy ideas to the General Assembly, lobby or veto specific legislation, but the Governor should not be overly involved in the legislative process. Similarly, the General Assembly should monitor and oversee the operations of executive branch agencies and their programs, but we should not micromanage them in a way that inhibits subject matter experts from accomplishing their goals. I have worked in both branches of government and am sensitive to the unique needs and duties of each side.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | I receive news from "established" forms of media, such as traditional local and national print newspaper companies, broadcast and cable TV and radio stations, and government or nonprofit research institutions. I also read stories and opinions from subjective or biased news sources, such as cable or internet-based companies that advocate for a particular viewpoint, because I want to know how different people think of issues that I may have to vote on, so that I can consider all sides of the issue before reaching a conclusion.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | I believe the state government should fully fund those areas where the state government is responsible for the provision of services, such as public education, public safety, infrastructure (roads, highways, bridges, mass transit, etc), environmental protection and conservation, and essential healthcare for those who cannot afford it.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | Virginia performs redistricting as if it is like any other policy issue, by allowing the majority party in each chamber of the state legislature to draw lines that consider political or partisan advantages. I support any process that reduces political or partisan consideration in redistricting and the most logical way to achieve this would be to have an independent commission handle redistricting instead of the state legislature.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
| “ | I believe Virginia's current tax policies are outdated and need overhauling in many aspects. As a member of the Special Joint Subcommittee to Evaluate Tax Preferences, my fellow Finance and Appropriations Committee members and I have been reviewing all the tax credits, deductions, exemptions and other preferences to determine whether they are meeting the original purposes of these laws or not, and if not, we are working to repeal or reduce the size of these preferences to capture more revenues. I also favor revising our personal income tax brackets so that they are more in line in today's work environment.[15] | ” |
| —Mark Keam | ||
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.
Endorsements
2017
In 2017, Keam’s endorsements included the following:
- NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia[16]
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.
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 Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 12.
- 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 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.
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.
Mark Keam at a rally for women's rights in February 2012. |
As of this writing, Keam and his wife, Alex, had two children.
See also
2021 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Virginia House of Delegates District 35 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ The Buffalo News, "Mark Keam, longtime Democratic Virginia delegate, resigns," September 6, 2022
- ↑ Mark Keam Delegate, "About Mark," accessed September 8, 2022
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Candidacy Requirements for the November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 November General Unofficial Results," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 June Democratic Primary," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 June Republican Primary," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 Primary election results," accessed September 1, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 General election candidates," accessed September 1, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, “Official Results - 2013 General Election," accessed December 2, 2013
- ↑ University of Virginia Center for Politics, Sabato's Crystal Ball, "Republicans Certain to Retain Control of Virginia House of Delegates," August 8, 2013
- ↑ VPAP, "House of Delegates District 35," accessed October 3, 2013
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Virginia House of Delegates 2009 General Election Results," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 15.9 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ NARAL, "2017 Endorsed House Candidates," accessed August 31, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Steve Shannon (D) |
Virginia House of Delegates District 35 2010-2022 |
Succeeded by Holly Seibold (D) |
