Stephen Dwayne Newman (born October 15, 1964) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

of the Republican Party. He has served 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 ...

since 1991, first in the House (1991-1996) and then to the Senate of Virginia (1996–present). In 2016, Newman became

president pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia The President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia is a Virginia constitutional office whose role is to serve as the presiding officer of the Senate of Virginia in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor. The office is established in Article IV, ...

. However, in the

2019 Virginia Senate election The 2019 Virginia Senate election was held on November 5, 2019, concurrently with the House election, to elect members to all 40 seats in the Senate of Virginia for the 161st Virginia General Assembly and the 162nd Virginia General Assembly. Pri ...

, although Newman won re-election from his district, Democrats won the majority. On January 8, 2020,

Louise Lucas Lillie Louise Lucas ( Boone; born January 22, 1944) is an American politician serving as a Virginia state senator, representing the 18th District in the southeast of the state since 1992. Democrats won a majority of seats in the 2019 Virginia ...

, a senior Democratic senator succeeded Newman as president pro tempore.

Early life and education

Newman was born on October 15, 1964,Stephen D. Newman
Senate of Virginia. in

Stuart, Virginia Stuart is a town in Patrick County, Virginia, where it is the county seat. The population was 1,408 at the 2010 census. The town of Stuart was named after Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, of nearby Ararat, Virginia. History Incorporation (1753� ...

.Alex Rohr
Steve Newman's quiet rise to legislative leadership
'' News & Advance'' (March 12, 2016). His family later moved to

Rustburg, Virginia Rustburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Campbell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,431 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. The public high school in Rus ...

, where he attended

Liberty Christian Academy Liberty Christian Academy (LCA, founded as Lynchburg Christian Academy) is a private Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1967 by Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell Sr. as a ministry of Thomas Road Baptist Church and a segregation aca ...

. Newman then attended

Central Virginia Community College Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) is a public community college in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is part of the Virginia Community College System The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) oversees a network of 23 community colleges in Vi ...

and

Lynchburg College The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students. ...

Career

Newman spent four years as a member of the Lynchburg City Council before being elected to 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-number ...

. He was a member of the House of Delegates from 1992 to 1996, and was elected to the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

in 1995. He represents Senate District 23, which includes all of Botetourt and Craig counties and parts of Campbell County, Bedford County, Roanoke County, and

Lynchburg City Lynchburg is a toponym that may refer to: *Lynchburg, California *Lynchburg, Mississippi *Lynchburg, Missouri *Lynchburg, North Dakota *Lynchburg, Ohio (in Clinton and Highland counties) *Lynchburg, Columbiana County, Ohio *Lynchburg, South Carolina ...

. His district is a safe Republican seat. Newman is chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health. Over his decades in the state legislature, Newman gained a reputation as a staunch conservative and a member with a talent for consensus-seeking and negotiation. In 2006, he was a sponsor of the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which banned

same-sex marriage in Virginia Same-sex marriage in Virginia has been legal since October 6, 2014, following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in ''Bostic v. Schaefer''. Same-sex marriages subsequently b ...

. He opposed

Medicaid expansion In the context of American public healthcare policy, Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who reside in states which have opted out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), who are both ineligible for Medicaid unde ...

in Virginia. He opposed 2014 legislation to decriminalize marijuana in Virginia.Alicia Petska
Lynchburg area legislators oppose bill to decriminalize marijuana
''News & Advance'' (December 14, 2014). In January 2016, Newman was elected

Alex Rohr
Newman named Va. Senate president pro tem
''News & Advance'' (January 13, 2016). and held that position until the 2020 General Assembly session began. The main duty of the pro tem is to preside over the state Senate when the lieutenant governor of Virginia (who is the president of the Senate) is unable to do so.

Notes

External links

Official campaign website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Stephen 1964 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Forest, Virginia People from Stuart, Virginia University of Lynchburg alumni Republican Party Virginia state senators