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Virginia's 51st House of Delegates district

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

District map from the 2023 election

Virginia's 51st House of Delegates district, in Prince William County, Virginia, elects one of the 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates,[1] the lower house of the state's bicameral legislature.

The 51st district has been represented by Democrat Briana Sewell since 2022.[2]

District officeholders

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Years Delegate Party Electoral history
January 16, 1998

January 9, 2008
M. B. McQuigg Republican Declined to run for reelection
January 9, 2008

January 13, 2010
Paul F. Nichols Democratic Defeated in bid for reelection
January 13, 2010

January 10, 2018
Rich Anderson Republican Defeated in bid for reelection
January 10, 2018

January 12, 2022
Hala Ayala Democratic First elected in 2017
January 12, 2022

present
Briana Sewell Democratic Redistricting
January 10, 2024

present
Eric Zehr Republican Incumbent

Electoral history

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In December 2020, Briana Sewell[3] announced her intention to run for Delegate of District 51. She is endorsed by Hala Ayala,[4] the district's current delegate who is vacating the seat to run for Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, a move announced in July 2020.[5] She is also endorsed by U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, with whom she has worked in the past.[6] Briana served as Chief of Staff to the Prince William County Chair At-Large, Ann Wheeler, and was previously the Political Director and Senior Organizer for the Virginia Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy.[7] According to her candidate website,[8] Briana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from the College of William and Mary and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from American University. She is running as a Democrat.[9]

Republican Rich Anderson represented District 51 from 2010 to 2018.[10] In November 2017, he was defeated by Democrat Hala Ayala in an election where the Medicaid expansion figured significantly; Anderson opposed while Ayala supported the policy, which ultimately passed, making an additional 14,000 Prince William County residents eligible for the low-income health insurance program.[10]

Anderson declared his candidacy to challenge Ayala in 2019.[10]

Ayala retired to run for lieutenant governor she went on to lose the general election. She was succeeded by Briana Sewell to represent the district.

References

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  1. ^ House of Delegates District 51 map at vpap.org
  2. ^ "Virginia Elections Database » Search Elections". Historical.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  3. ^ STAFF, INSIDENOVA. "Briana Sewell to seek 51st District House seat; Ayala not running for re-election". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  4. ^ "Delegate Hala Ayala Endorses Briana Sewell for 51st House District". Hala for Virginia. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "Hala Ayala Announces Candidacy for Virginia Lieutenant Governor". Hala for Virginia. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  6. ^ "Congressman Gerry Connolly's to host Prince William Military Service Academy Night". Potomac Local News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  7. ^ Writer, Daniel Berti Times Staff. "Woodbridge resident Briana Sewell announces bid for 51st House of Delegates' seat". Prince William Times. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "Briana Sewell for Virginia's 51st House District". Briana Sewell for Delegate. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "Briana Sewell". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Palermo, Jill (February 28, 2019). "Former delegate Rich Anderson announces bid for Virginia's 51st District". Prince William Times. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
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