James Marshall Shuler (born December 31, 1943) is a retired American politician. 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 Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

1994–2012, representing the 12th district in the western part of the state. Shuler is 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 ...

. Shuler served on the House committees on Agriculture (1994–2001), Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (2002–2011), Corporations, Insurance and Banking (1994–2001), Education (2004–2011), Labor and Commerce (1994–1997), Militia, Police and Public Safety (2002–2011), Mining and Mineral Resources (1994–2001), and Science and Technology (1998–2001).

Early life, education

Shuler was born in

Rockingham County, Virginia Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,757. Its county seat is the independent city of Harrisonburg. Along with Harrisonburg, Rockingham County forms the Harrisonburg, ...

. He received a B.S. degree from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in 1966 and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1970.

Electoral history

Shuler served on the

Blacksburg, Virginia Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg, as well as the surrounding county, is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of V ...

Town Council 1982–1988. In 1993, when Democrat Joan Munford retired from the House of Delegates 12th district seat after six terms, Shuler became the Democratic nominee, and won the seat. The

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 ...

majority substantially redrew the 12th district during the 2001

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

. The district, which had been based in Giles and Montgomery Counties, expanded northward to include all of Alleghany,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and Craig Counties, as well as the independent cities of Covington and

Clifton Forge Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. The Jackson River flows through the town, which as a result was once known as Jac ...

(which reverted to town status within Alleghany County in 2002); this put 18th district incumbent and fellow Democrat

Creigh Deeds Robert Creigh Deeds (; born January 4, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Senate of Virginia representing the 25th district since 2001. Previously, he was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virgi ...

in the 12th with Shuler. Shuler moved from Blacksburg to Pulaski County and ran for the open 7th district seat, but lost to Republican

Dave Nutter David A. Nutter (born April 2, 1955 in Clarksburg, West Virginia) is an American politician of the Republican Party. From 2002 to 2012, he served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He represented the 7th district in the southwest ...

in the November 6, 2001 general election, while Deeds won in the redrawn 12th. State Senator

Emily Couric Emily Couric (June 5, 1947 – October 18, 2001) was a Virginia Democratic state senator from Charlottesville. Life and career Couric was born to Elinor (Hene) Couric, a homemaker and part-time writer, and John Martin Couric, a public rel ...

had died of pancreatic cancer on October 18, three weeks before the election, and Deeds won her seat in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

on December 18. This created a vacancy in Shuler's old district, so he moved back to Blacksburg and won a 12th district special election on January 8, 2002. On the next day, when the House opened its new session, Shuler returned without an actual break in service.

Notes

External links

* (campaign finance) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuler, James M. 1943 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia city council members American veterinarians Male veterinarians Virginia Tech alumni University of Georgia alumni People from Blacksburg, Virginia People from Rockingham County, Virginia 21st-century American politicians