Marie Redd is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

politician from the state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Redd was a Democratic West Virginia State Senator from the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

, which contains

Cabell County Cabell County is located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,350, making it West Virginia's fourth most-populous county. Its county seat is Huntington. The county was organized in 1809 and named for ...

and a small portion of Wayne County. In 1998, she defeated incumbent Republican

Thomas F. Scott Thomas Fielding Scott (March 12, 1807July 14, 1867) was the first missionary Episcopal Bishop of Washington and Oregon territories. Early life Scott was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, the son of James Scott and Rebekkah Worke Scott. ...

in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, thereby becoming the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

state senator in

history. Redd lost to Evan Jenkins in the 2002 Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

and again in 2006.

Personal

Marie Redd is married to attorney William Redd and they have two children, Lemarquis and D'Ann Redd. Prior to her election to the West Virginia Senate in 1998, Redd was an associate professor of criminal justice at

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

and worked at the IBM Corporation for 18 years. Redd was an unsuccessful candidate for the Cabell County Commission in 2014. She was named a West Virginia Wonder Woman by West Virginia Living Magazine in 2020.

References

External links

Analysis of Redd's campaigns in 1998 and 2002.
Democratic Party West Virginia state senators Women state legislators in West Virginia African-American state legislators in West Virginia African-American women in politics Politicians from Huntington, West Virginia Living people African-American history of West Virginia Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women {{WestVirginia-politician-stub