Aston Donald McEachin ( ; October 10, 1961 – November 28, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

Virginia's 4th congressional district Virginia's fourth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the state of Virginia, taking in most of the area between Richmond and Chesapeake. In Hampton Roads, it covers all or part of the counties of Charles City, ...

from 2017 until his death in 2022. His district was based in the state capital,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

; it included much of the area between Richmond, a portion of its

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

, and

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, McEachin 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 Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1996 until 2002 and then served an additional term from 2006 until 2008. McEachin ran for the open seat of Virginia's 4th congressional district vacated in 2016 by

Randy Forbes James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for , serving from 2001 to 2017. Prior to joining the United States Congress, he was a member of the Virgin ...

of the Republican Party and won the general election with 57.3% of the vote. In 2001, McEachin was the Democratic nominee in the Virginia Attorney General election, which he lost to Jerry Kilgore. McEachin was the first African American nominated by a major party for Virginia attorney general. He was the third African American elected to Congress from Virginia and the second elected from the state since the 1800s.

Early life, education, and legal career

McEachin was born in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Germany, while his father was serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He attended St. Christopher's School in Richmond. In 1982, he received a bachelor's degree in political history from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

. After that, he attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

, where he received a J.D. in 1986. He also received a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

from

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

in 2008. In 2012, he was awarded ''honoris causa'' membership in

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in ...

, the National Leadership Honor Society. McEachin began to practice law in Richmond after completing law school, eventually becoming a partner in his own firm, McEachin and Gee.

Virginia House of Delegates

McEachin was first elected to the House of Delegates from the 74th district in 1995. After three terms there, he ran in the

2001 Virginia Attorney General election The 2001 Virginia Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2001, to elect the next attorney general of Virginia. The Republican nominee, Jerry Kilgore, defeated the Democratic nominee, Donald McEachin, by around 20 points. General ele ...

. He won a four-way Democratic primary with 33.6% of the vote, but lost the general election to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Jerry Kilgore by 20 percentage points. In 2005 he ran again for the 74th House district, defeating his predecessor, Floyd Miles, by 44 votes in the Democratic primary, and winning the general election with 75% of the vote.

Virginia Senate

In 2007, McEachin ran for the state senate, challenging 9th district incumbent

Benjamin Lambert Benjamin Joseph Lambert, III (January 29, 1937 – March 2, 2014) was an American optometrist, community leader and politician. A Democrat, Lambert served for more than three decades in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly (the first op ...

, who drew criticism within the Democratic Party for his endorsement of Republican U.S. Senator

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

in Allen's unsuccessful 2006 reelection campaign against

Jim Webb James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...

. After defeating Lambert 58%-42% in the primary, McEachin won 81% of the vote against

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 ...

Silver Persinger in the general election. McEachin was unopposed for reelection in 2011.

United States House of Representatives

In 2019, McEachin suggested that

Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

should send the

Virginia National Guard The Virginia National Guard consists of the Virginia Army National Guard and the Virginia Air National Guard. It is part of the Government of Virginia though the National Guard across the United States is mostly funded by the federal government ...

to close down armories and forcibly enact Dick Saslaw's proposed confiscatory ban on commonly held rifles and handguns with standard capacity magazines in counties where local law enforcement refused. McEachin's threat to send troops to confiscate arms and close armories came in response to the ratification of Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolutions in 91 out of 95 counties, 16 out of 38 independent cities, and 42 towns.

Committee assignments

McEachin was a member of the following committees and subcommittees during the

117th Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

: *

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

** Subcommittee on Communications and Technology ** Subcommittee on Energy ** Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change * Committee on Natural Resources ** Energy and Mineral Resources ** Oversight and Investigations * Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce ...

Electoral history

In 2001, he was the Democratic nominee for

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...

, but lost to Jerry Kilgore. In June 2020, McEachin was nominated over R. Cazel Levine in the Democratic primary. That November, he defeated Republican nominee Leon Benjamin in the general election.

Illness and death

In 2018, McEachin revealed that he had developed a

fistula A fistula (plural: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") in anatomy is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow or ...

after completing treatment for

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

in 2014, losing more than as a result. He advocated regular testing for the disease, telling attendees at a special screening of the film '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'', "Don't fool around. Don't go through my journey", two weeks before his death. McEachin died at his home in Richmond of complications of cancer on November 28, 2022, at the age of 61. His death came a few weeks after his reelection to a fourth term in the 2022 elections. He was mourned by outgoing

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

, as well as fellow Virginia Democratic representative

Gerry Connolly Gerald Edward Connolly (born March 30, 1950) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district, first elected in 2008. The district is anchored in Fairfax County, an affluent suburban coun ...

and both of Virginia's U.S. Senators,

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th governo ...

and

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...

(who had known McEachin since 1984).

Personal life

McEachin and his wife, Colette, had three children and lived in Richmond. In 2019, Colette McEachin became interim

Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

for

(having served in that office for 20 years), won the Democratic nomination on August 10, and was unopposed in the special election on November 5. On August 25, 2015, McEachin's name was found on the list of users of the

Ashley Madison Ashley Madison, or The Ashley Madison Agency, is a Canadian online dating service and social networking service marketed to people who are Marriage, married or in relationships. The site has been widely condemned for being a "business built on t ...

website. His response was, "At this time, this is a personal issue between my family and me. I will have no further statement on this issue."

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McEachin, A. Donald 1961 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Virginia American University alumni Candidates in the 2001 United States elections Deaths from cancer in Virginia Deaths from colorectal cancer Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Democratic Party Virginia state senators Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Henrico County, Virginia People from Nuremberg Politicians from Richmond, Virginia St. Christopher's School (Richmond, Virginia) alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia state senators Virginia Union University alumni