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Robert Thomas Jr.

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Robert Thomas Jr.
Image of Robert Thomas Jr.
Prior offices
Stafford County Board of Directors

Virginia House of Delegates District 28
Successor: Joshua Cole

Elections and appointments
Last election

June 11, 2019

Education

Associate

Northern Virginia Community College

Bachelor's

Excelsior College

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1995 - 2003

Robert Thomas Jr. (Republican Party) was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 28. Thomas assumed office in 2018. Thomas left office on January 8, 2020.

Thomas (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 28. Thomas lost in the Republican primary on June 11, 2019.

Biography

Thomas was born in Sandusky, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1995 to 2003. He received his associate degree in applied science – information technology from Northern Virginia Community College and his B.S. in information technology from Excelsior College. His professional experience includes working for a government contractor and founding Capriccio Software.[1] He has served on the Stafford County Board of Directors, representing the George Washington District.[2]

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Thomas was assigned to 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

2019

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019

General election

General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 28

Joshua Cole defeated Paul Milde III in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 28 on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joshua Cole
Joshua Cole (D) Candidate Connection
 
51.8
 
13,334
Image of Paul Milde III
Paul Milde III (R)
 
47.8
 
12,294
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
101

Total votes: 25,729
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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 28

Paul Milde III defeated incumbent Robert Thomas Jr. in the Republican primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 28 on June 11, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Paul Milde III
Paul Milde III
 
51.2
 
2,975
Image of Robert Thomas Jr.
Robert Thomas Jr.
 
48.8
 
2,834

Total votes: 5,809
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.

2017

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 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] Robert Thomas Jr. (R) defeated Joshua Cole (D) in the Virginia House of Delegates District 28 general election.[4]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 28 General Election, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Robert Thomas Jr. 50.17% 11,842
     Democratic Joshua Cole 49.83% 11,760
Total Votes (Legal challenge is pending) 23,602
Source: Virginia Department of Elections


The 2017 election was reviewed by the courts due to voting irregularities, but the courts concluded that the issues were not widespread enough to invalidate the results.[5] Thomas was sworn in on January 10, 2018, bringing an end to the dispute.

Races we watched
Races to Watch-2017-badge.png

Ballotpedia identified 13 races to watch in the Virginia House of Delegates 2017 elections: four Democratic seats and nine Republican seats. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly have led to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance..

This district was a Race to Watch because it was an open seat with a close margin of victory in the 2016 presidential election. Incumbent Bill Howell (R), first elected in 1987, won re-election in 2015 by 20.9 points. He declined to run in 2017. District 28 was one of 49 Virginia House districts that Republican Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Trump carried District 28 by 1.1 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 0.1 points. As of 2017, District 28 covered parts of Stafford County.

Democratic primary election

Joshua Cole ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 28 Democratic primary.[6]

Ballotpedia will publish vote totals here after they become available.
Virginia House of Delegates, District 28 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate
Green check mark transparent.png Joshua Cole

Republican primary election

Robert Thomas Jr. defeated Paul Milde III and Susan Stimpson in the Virginia House of Delegates District 28 Republican primary.[7]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 28 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Robert Thomas Jr. 49.17% 3,051
Paul Milde III 33.31% 2,067
Susan Stimpson 17.52% 1,087
Total Votes 6,205

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Robert Thomas Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Thomas’ campaign website highlighted the following issues:

Size of Government
Big government is not the answer. As your Delegate in Richmond, I will work hard to push back on Washington. In addition, Richmond must do a better job of understanding how state decisions are pushed down to the local level. As a locally elected official, I have dealt with unfunded state mandates which could have been adjusted slightly and taken a huge burden off local budgets. I will be a strong voice for the officials you elect at the local level. I believe the government closest to the people is usually the most appropriate to make decisions.

Taxes
I believe government should live within its means just like our families and businesses do. Virginia must undertake serious tax reforms to provide tax relief for Virginia families and to become more competitive with our neighboring states in attracting businesses. I support lowering taxes on business, but this must not be limited to the corporate tax rate. The engine of our economy is small business and most of those business owners pay individual taxes. Effective tax reform will boost Virginia’s economy and provide additional revenue for core services.

2nd Amendment
Our founding fathers believed in our right to protect ourselves, and I will be a strong defender of the 2nd Amendment as the founders intended.

Life
I am pro-life, and I believe every life is precious and we must protect the unborn. Most people agree tax dollars should not be used to pay for abortions, and I will continue to support legislation that keeps this requirement in place.

Transportation and Congestion
Transportation issues affect all areas of our community, from our ability to enjoy ample quality time with our families to the ability of the Commonwealth to attract new businesses and jobs. One of the first things companies look at besides the quality of the local school system is the ability to move their employees, customers and products efficiently. We have made some progress, but much more must be done to dig our way out of this transportation crisis.

Education
Education is the foundation upon which our country’s future rests. I will always advocate for education decisions being made at the lowest level of government possible. The less federal regulations imposed upon all states the better, and as your Delegate, I will advocate for this belief with my federal counterparts.[8]

—Robert Thomas Jr., [9]

Endorsements

2017

In 2017, Thomas’ endorsements included the following:

Scorecards

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






2020

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.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."
Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive 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 climate and energy.
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.


2019


2018




See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
Bill Howell (R)
Virginia House of Delegates District 28
2018–2020
Succeeded by
Joshua Cole (D)


Current members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Don Scott
Majority Leader:Charniele Herring
Minority Leader:Terry Kilgore
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
Jas Singh (D)
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
Vacant
District 34
Tony Wilt (R)
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
Eric Zehr (R)
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
District 71
District 72
Lee Ware (R)
District 73
District 74
District 75
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
Don Scott (D)
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
Democratic Party (51)
Republican Party (48)
Vacancies (1)