Jennifer Wexton

Jennifer Wexton
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 33rd district
Assumed office
January 24, 2014
Preceded by Mark Herring
Personal details
Born Jennifer Lynn Tosini
(1968-05-27) May 27, 1968
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s)
Andrew Wexton (m. 2001)
Children 2
Education University of Maryland, College Park (BA)
College of William and Mary (JD)
Website Campaign website

Jennifer Lynn Wexton (née Tosini; born May 27, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia who has represented the 33rd district in the State Senate since 2014. The district includes northeastern Loudoun County and northwestern Fairfax County. She is a member of the Democratic Party and her party's 2018 nominee to represent Virginia's 10th congressional district.

Early life and education

Wexton is from Leesburg, Virginia. Her father and mother were senior economists at the United States Department of the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively.[1]

Wexton received a BA from the University of Maryland, College Park. She then enrolled at the College of William & Mary School of Law, and received a Juris Doctor in 1995.[1][2] At William & Mary, she was a member of Phi Delta Phi, a legal honor society.[3]

Career

Wexton is a partner in The Laurel Brigade Law Group. She served as a substitute judge in Loudoun County, Virginia, and beginning in 2001,[4] as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney where she successfully prosecuted Clara Jane Schwartz for the murder of her (Schwartz's) father, Robert Schwartz.[5] Wexton ran for Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney in the 2011 elections, losing to Jim Plowman, an incumbent.[6][7]

After Mark Herring, who represented the 33rd district in the Virginia Senate, won the 2013 election to serve as the Attorney General of Virginia, Wexton declared her candidacy in the special election to fill the seat.[6] In the Democratic primary, Wexton defeated Herndon Town Councilor Sheila Olem.[8] In a campaign ad, Wexton spoke of her experience defending victims of rape and assault, and pledged "fight just as hard against tea party Republicans who would take away a woman’s health care and her right to choose, even in cases of rape and incest". The Republican Party of Virginia criticized the ad, saying it compared Tea Party activists to rapists; Wexton's campaign denied the comparison.[9] She faced Republican John Whitbeck and Republican-turned-Independent Joe T. May in the January 2014 special election, and won 53%–38%–10%.[10] She assumed office on January 24, 2014[11] and was re-elected in the November 2015 general election.

In April 2017, Wexton announced that she would run in Virginia’s 10th congressional district election, 2018.[12] Her state senate district overlaps with the congressional district around Leesburg and Sterling. In June 2018, she won a six-way primary to become the Democratic nominee for the November 2018 general election, in which she faces Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock.[13]

Personal life

Wexton married Andrew Wexton in 2001, at the age of 33.[1] The couple has two sons.[8]

Electoral history

DateElectionCandidatePartyVotes%
Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney
November 8, 2011[14] General James E. "Jim" Plowman Republican 26,050 51.83
Jennifer T. Wexton Democratic 24,104 47.96
Write Ins 101 0.20
Republican incumbent reelected
Virginia Senate, 33rd District
January 21, 2014[15] General Special Jennifer T. Wexton Democratic 11,431 52.72
John C. L. Whitbeck, Jr. Republican 8,133 37.51
Joe T. May Independent 2,117 9.76
Write Ins 3 0.01
Mark Herring resigned; seat remained Democratic
November 3, 2015[16] General Jennifer T. Wexton Democratic 18,577 56.60
Stephen B. Hollingshead Republican 14,190 43.23
Write Ins 54 0.16

References

  1. 1 2 3 "WEDDINGS; Jennifer Tosini, Andrew Wexton". The New York Times. May 27, 2001. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Report of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law 1997-1998". William & Mary Law School. 1998. p. 72. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Jennifer L. Tosini". Phi Delta Phi. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ Portnoy, Jenna (April 20, 2017). "Democrat Jennifer Wexton says she will challenge Rep. Barbara Comstock". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ Echtenkamp, Jon (October 15, 2002). "Fantasy, reality collide at murder trial". Fairfax Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Gibson, Caitlin (November 13, 2013). "Leesburg attorney Jennifer Wexton announces bid for Herring's Senate seat". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ Gibson, Caitlin (November 9, 2011). "Incumbents fare well in many Northern Va. races, but Loudoun is an exception". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Baratko, Trevor (November 24, 2013). "Wexton wins Democratic primary to replace Herring in Virginia Senate". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ Gibson, Caitlin (January 9, 2014). "Va. GOP takes offense at Wexton's state Senate campaign ad". The Washington Post.
  10. ↑ Baratko, Trevor (January 21, 2014). "Jennifer Wexton wins Virginia Senate special election to succeed Mark Herring". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Democrat Wexton joins Senate - Richmond Times-Dispatch: Local Government & Politics". Timesdispatch.com. May 15, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  12. ↑ Portnoy, Jenna (April 20, 2017). "Democrat Jennifer Wexton says she will challenge Rep. Barbara Comstock". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ Portnoy, Jenna (June 12, 2018). "State Sen. Jennifer Wexton wins the Democratic race to run against Rep. Comstock". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Election Results - Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney - Nov11 General Election". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Special General Election - January 28, 2014". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  16. ↑ "General Election - November 3, 2015". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
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