John Edwards (Virginia)

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John Edwards
Democratic Party
Prior offices:
Virginia State Senate District 21
Years in office: 1996 - 2024
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2019
Education
High school
Patrick Henry High School
Bachelor's
Princeton University, 1966
Law
University of Virginia School of Law, 1970
Military
Service / branch
U.S. Marine Corps
Years of service
1971 - 1973
Personal
Religion
Lutheran (ELCA)
Profession
Attorney
Contact
Personal LinkedIn

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

2023-2024

Edwards was assigned to the following committees:

2020-2021

Edwards was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Edwards was assigned to the following committees:

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:

2014 legislative session

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

2012-2013

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

2010-2011

In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Edwards 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

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
✔
Image of John Edwards
John Edwards (D)
 
65.5
 
26,877
Image of Steven Nelson
Steven Nelson (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
33.8
 
13,882
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
287

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

Total votes: 41,046
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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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 Green check mark transparent.pngJohn 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
Green check mark transparent.png 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.

John Edwards campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2019Virginia State Senate District 21Won general$374,169 N/A**
Grand total$374,169 N/A**
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 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.

In 2011, the Virginia General Assembly was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

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

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External links

Personal

  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ https://cardinalnews.org/2023/02/27/sen-john-edwards-is-retiring/ Cardinal News, "Sen. John Edwards is retiring," accessed March 19, 2023]
    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. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Washington Post, "Defending one of rural Virginia’s last bits of blue," accessed October 22, 2015
    5. ↑ roanoke.com, "Don Caldwell enters race against John Edwards, Nancy Dye for Senate," accessed June 18, 2015
    6. ↑ The Roanoke Times, "Republican groups send cash surge into Nancy Dye's bid to unseat John Edwards," accessed October 22, 2015
    7. ↑ Virginia Public Access Project, "Cash on Hand," accessed October 22, 2015
    8. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014
    9. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 6, 2007 General Election Official Results," accessed May 28, 2014
    10. ↑ Follow the Money, "2007 Campaign contributions," accessed May 28, 2014
    11. ↑ 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)


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