Amy Laufer was the 2019 Democratic nominee in an unsuccessful bid for

Virginia's 17th Senate district Virginia's 17th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Republican Bryce Reeves since his 2011 victory over incumbent Democrat Edd Houck. Geography District 17 stretches from Fredericksburg i ...

, which stretches from Fredericksburg to the suburbs of

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

Albemarle County Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Charl ...

, and includes all of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and parts of Culpepper County, Louisa County and

Spotsylvania County Spotsylvania County is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the July 2021 estimate, the population was 143,676. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, Spotsylvania Courthouse. History At the time ...

. She lost in the general election to Republican incumbent

Bryce Reeves Bryce E. Reeves (born November 28, 1966) is an American politician serving as a member of the Senate of Virginia. A State Farm insurance agent, he was elected in 2011. Reeves defeated the 28-year Democratic incumbent, Edd Houck, by 226 votes. Re ...

, 51.6 percent to 48.1 percent.

Early life

Laufer grew up on a dairy farm in rural

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, one of eight children and the first in her family to attend college, working her way through the

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and earning a bachelor's degree in geology. She then joined the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

, teaching elementary school in a rural town in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Following the Peace Corps, she attended

Teachers College at Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

in New York City, graduating with a master's degree in secondary science education.Laufer for Virginia website, biography, retrieved October 6, 2019
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Career

Laufer is a former school teacher, having taught at Louisa County Middle School and

Tandem Friends School Tandem Friends School is a coeducational secondary school founded in 1970 in Albemarle County, Virginia,

in Charlottesville. In 2011, she was elected to the Charlottesville School Board, and served as the board's vice chair and chair from 2012 to 2016. In 2014, she founded Virginia's List, a political group supporting Democratic women running for office.

Campaign for Senate

Laufer's primary opponent was Ben Hixon, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Culpeper, whom she defeated June 11, 2019 by a margin of 78.6 percent to 21.4 percent. She faces Republican incumbent

in November 2019.

Personal and family

Laufer lives in Albemarle County with her husband Aaron and their three children.

References

External links

Official campaign website

VoteSmart.org, Amy Laufer
21st-century American politicians Living people Virginia Democrats Year of birth missing (living people) {{Virginia-politician-stub