The 2011 Virginia state elections took place on November 8, 2011. All 140 seats in the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
were up for re-election, as were many local offices.
Virginia Senate
Prior to the election, 22 seats were held by Democrats and 18 seats were held by Republicans. Redistricting caused the 13th district to be moved from Hampton Roads to Northern Virginia and the 22nd district to be moved from the Roanoke area to a district stretching from Lynchburg to Richmond. Republicans gained two seats, making the Senate tied with 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans.
Four incumbent senators chose to retire:
Fred Quayle
Frederick MacDonald Quayle (February 16, 1936 – November 24, 2018) was an American politician and lawyer.
Political career
Quayle served in the Virginia Senate and was a Republican. Quayle represented the 13th District in the Commonwealt ...
(R-13),
Patsy Ticer (D-30),
Mary Margaret Whipple
Mary Margaret Whipple (born May 26, 1940) is a former Democratic member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 31st district from 1996 - 2012.
Political career
She was the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, and she was the first wo ...
(D-31), and
William Wampler Jr. (R-40). In addition, two senators,
Ralph K. Smith (R-22) and
Bill Stanley (R-19) chose to seek re-election in new districts: Smith went from the 22nd to Stanley's 19th, while Stanley opted to challenge incumbent Democrat
Roscoe Reynolds in the 20th.
Results
Note: Only races with more than one candidate running are listed below. Unofficial results from the State Board of Elections website.
Party abbreviations: D -
Democratic Party, R -
Republican Party, IG -
Independent Green Party, I -
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
Virginia House of Delegates
Prior to the election, the House of Delegates consisted of 58 Republicans, 39 Democrats, 2 Independents, with one vacant seat previously held by a Republican (
Glenn Oder
George Glenn Oder (born April 24, 1957) is an American politician. From 2002–2012 he served in the Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the ...
of the 94th district, who resigned in August 2011). Redistricting eliminated three seats: Southwestern Virginia's 2nd district, the Martinsville-area 10th district, and the Norfolk-based 87th district. These three seats were moved to Northern Virginia. Republicans gained seven seats from the Democrats and one seat from a retiring independent, making the House's composition 67 Republicans, 32 Democrats, and 1 Independent.
Thirteen incumbents chose not to seek another term in the House:
Bud Phillips
Clarence Edward "Bud" Phillips (born April 8, 1950) is an American politician. A Democrat, he served 11 terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, 1990–2012. He represented a portion of southwestern Virginia that at times included parts of ...
(D-2),
Bill Carrico (R-5),
Dave Nutter (R-7),
Jim Shuler (D-12),
Bill Cleaveland (R-17),
Clay Athey (R-18),
Adam Ebbin (D-49),
Bill Janis (R-56),
Watkins Abbitt, Jr. (I-59),
Paula Miller (D-87),
Glenn Oder
George Glenn Oder (born April 24, 1957) is an American politician. From 2002–2012 he served in the Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the ...
(R-94),
Harvey Morgan
Harvey Bland Morgan (born August 18, 1930) is an American politician. From 1980–2012 he served in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 98th district on the Middle Peninsula. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Par ...
(R-98), and
Albert C. Pollard (R-99).
Three Delegates retired in order to seek State Senate seats:
Bill Carrico (R-5) opted to run for the open 40th district seat,
Dave Nutter (R-7) decided to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator
John Edwards
Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
in the 21st district, and
Adam Ebbin (D-49) chose to run for the open 30th district seat.
Del.
Ward Armstrong
Ward Lynn Armstrong (born June 2, 1956 in Bassett, Virginia) is an American trial lawyer and Democratic politician. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992 to 2011, and served as the minority leader from 2007 to 2011.
Electora ...
(D-10) decided to challenge Republican Del.
Charles Poindexter in the 9th district rather than retire.
2011 Official General Assembly Candidates List
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References
{{United States elections, 2011
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...