Jennifer Leigh McClellan (born December 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Virginia state senator from the 9th district since 2017. 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 ...

, she was previously 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 ...

from 2006 to 2017, representing the 71st district. McClellan is vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, and is a former president of the Virginia Young Democrats, vice chair of the

Democratic Party of Virginia The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA/VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia. Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernatorial election, the ...

, and member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She was a candidate in the Democratic primary for

governor of Virginia 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 ...

in the 2021 election, coming in third place and losing the nomination to former governor

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

. McClellan is the Democratic nominee in the 2023 Virginia's 4th congressional district special election.

Early life and education

McClellan was born in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Econ ...

. She grew up as the child of a

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of hi ...

professor involved in civil rights activism. McClellan attended Matoaca High School in Chesterfield County, where she was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

. McClellan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Career

After law school, McClellan began practicing law at Hunton & Williams. In 2005, McClellan ran for office for the first time, seeking a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates vacated by

Viola Baskerville Viola Osborne Baskerville (born October 29, 1951) is a Virginia lawyer and politician who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1998 to 2005 and as Secretary of Administration in the Cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2 ...

, who stepped down to run for lieutenant governor of Virginia. McClellan won the election and from 2006 to 2017 represented the 71st district in the Virginia House of Delegates, which comprised parts of the city of Richmond and

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

. In 2010, McClellan became the first pregnant Virginia delegate to participate in a legislative session. When

was elected governor of Virginia in 2013, McClellan headed the transition team. McClellan has served as vice chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia. As the highest-ranking female party officer, she was also automatically a member of the Democratic National Committee. As a DNC member, she was a superdelegate to the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...

. McClellan is also vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus McClellan was elected to the Virginia Senate in a special election held on January 10, 2017, to fill the 9th district seat vacated by

Donald McEachin Aston Donald McEachin ( ; October 10, 1961 – November 28, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district from 2017 until his death in 2022. His district was based in ...

's election to the U.S. House of Representatives. She defeated

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opponent Corey Fauconier. In the race, McClellan received endorsements from McEachin, as well as Richmond Mayor

Levar Stoney Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia. He served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 through 2016, the youngest membe ...

, U.S. Senators

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 Virgi ...

and Mark Warner and Governor

. Her seat was once held by Governor Douglas Wilder. McClellan works as regulatory counsel for

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

2021 gubernatorial campaign

In June 2020, McClellan announced she would run for

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. She, like fellow candidate Jennifer Carroll Foy, would have become the first female governor of Virginia, the second Black governor after Douglas Wilder, and the first Black female governor of the United States if elected. However, in the Democratic primary,

, the former governor running for reelection, was renominated, with Carrol Foy taking a distant second place, and McClellan not far behind Carroll Foy in third place.

2023 U.S. House special election

McClellan is the Democratic nominee in the 2023 special election 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, ...

. The seat became vacant when incumbent

died from colorectal cancer on November 28, 2022. A firehouse primary was held on December 20, 2022, with the general election scheduled for February 21, 2023.

Personal life

McClellan lives in Richmond with her husband David and two children. She is a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. Her mentor,

, officiated her wedding ceremony.

References

External links

Jennifer McClellan for Congress
campaign website
Legislative profile
at 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 ...

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McClellan, Jennifer 1972 births 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in Virginia African-American women in politics African-American women lawyers Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Democratic National Committee people Democratic Party Virginia state senators Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Richmond, Virginia University of Richmond alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Women state legislators in Virginia