Charles Matthew Fariss (born May 11, 1968) is an American politician. A

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 ...

, he was 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 ...

in 2011. He the 59th district, made up of Appomattox County and

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

counties, and parts of Albemarle, Campbell, and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

counties between

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...

and Lynchburg.

Early life, education, business career

Fariss grew up on a farm. After graduating from

Rustburg High School Rustburg High School is a public school for grades nine through twelve, in Rustburg, Virginia. It is one of four high schools that are part of the Campbell County Public Schools (Virginia), Campbell County Public Schools, along with Altavista High ...

, he went into farming himself, and expanded into other related businesses, including co-ownership of the Lynchburg Livestock Market. Fariss married Crystal Dawn Brown. They have three children, Hunter, Bobby and Harrison.

Political career

The 59th district incumbent,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Watkins Abbitt, Jr., retired in 2011 after 26 years of service. Fariss, the Republican nominee, won a three-way race against Democrat Connie Brennan and independent Linda M. Wall, receiving 52.98% of the vote. Fariss is a social conservative, and opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, as well as

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

: "As delegate, he will oppose any effort on the state or local level to allow for marriage, partnership benefits, or recognition. Matt will work diligently to ensure that what has happened in New York and elsewhere will never happen in Virginia." In January 2016, Fariss was charged with two incidents. These included a misdemeanor breach of peace and a hit and run accident in which property was damaged but no people were hurt. In October 2019, Fariss potentially violated Virginia campaign finance code by holding a fundraiser via raffle.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fariss, Matt 1968 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Campbell County, Virginia Politicians from Lynchburg, Virginia Farmers from Virginia 21st-century American politicians