John A. Cosgrove (born June 7, 1954) 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 ...

. On August 16, 2013, he was sworn in as a member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 14th district, after winning an August 6

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, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to replace the retiring

Harry Blevins Harry B. Blevins (August 22, 1935 – February 19, 2018) was an American politician. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates January 16, 1998 – September 10, 2001 and the Senate of Virginia September 10, 2001 – August 5, 201 ...

. From 2002 to 2013 Cosgrove 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-number ...

, representing the 78th district in the city of Chesapeake. Cosgrove is a member of the Republican Party. Cosgrove is a Virginia State Leader for the

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the United State ...

(ALEC), which writes

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

model bills for state legislators to introduce. Cosgrove is an advocate for gun rights. In 2017, the

Virginia Citizens Defense League Philip Van Cleave (born 1952 in Kankakee, Illinois) is an American gun rights advocate and the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL). In 2018, he appeared on the show '' Who is America?'' where he instructed preschool children ...

named him one of the most pro-gun politicians in the state. In 2017, Cosgrove mistakenly left his handgun unattended in an assembly meeting room.

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* (campaign finance) * * 1954 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Tidewater Community College alumni Old Dominion University alumni American electronics engineers Politicians from Chesapeake, Virginia Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama Military personnel from Montgomery, Alabama 21st-century American politicians Engineers from Virginia Republican Party Virginia state senators {{Virginia-VASenate-stub