Virginia's 50th House of Delegates district

Virginia's 50th House of Delegates district elects one of the 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates, the lower house of the state's bicameral legislature. The district is made up of most of Manassas City and some of Prince William County.[1] The representative of the 50th district is Democrat Lee J. Carter, who is also a Democratic Socialist.

Elections

1981

Republican Harry J. Parrish, who had previously served as a Manassas council member, was elected to represent District 50 in 1981, which he did continuously for the following 25 years. His health declined in later years but he nevertheless defeated a 2005 primary challenge, and served until his death on March 28, 2006.[2]

2007

In 2006, Republican Jackson Miller was elected to represent the district in a special election to fill the seat following Parrish's death.[3] Miller was reelected four times, generally with about 60% of the vote (with the exception of 2011, when he was unopposed).[4]

2017

In the 2017 Virginia's House of Delegates election, Carter defeated Jackson Miller, the incumbent and Republican majority whip of the House of Delegates,[5] 11,360 to 9,510.[5] 9510 was the largest number of votes Miller had ever received in the district; previously Miller's highest total (always sufficient to retain his seat) was 9,500.[5]

Carter, a first-time candidate, decided to run after difficulties dealing with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission following an injury on the job.[6] His campaign initially coordinated with the Democratic Party, but ceased reporting internal numbers to the Party following what Carter described as security lapses, and the Party withdrew financial support.[6] During the campaign, Miller sent out mailers comparing Carter to Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.[5]

2019

In 2019, incumbent Carter fended off a challenge in the Democratic primary by Manassas City Councilman Mark Wolfe.[7][8] (Wolfe became a Democrat in 2016, having first been elected to the Manassas City Council as a Republican in 2008 and again in 2012).[9] Carter faced Manassas City Councilman Ian Lovejoy, a Republican, in the general election,[8] and won reelection with 53% of the vote.[10]

District officeholders
Years Delegate Party Electoral history
January 1982
–
March 28, 2006		 Harry J. Parrish Republican Died in office
January 2007
–
January 2018		 Jackson Miller Republican Elected in 2006 special to fill vacated seat after Parrish's death
January 2018
–
present		 Lee Carter Democratic First elected in 2017

References
  1. House of Delegates District 50 at vpap.org
  2. Jenkins, Chris L.; Helderman, Rosalind S. (March 29, 2006). "Del. Harry J. Parrish Dies at 84 Lawmaker Rose From Manassas Council to Va. House". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  3. "General Election- November 7, 2006". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  4. "Elections: House of Delegates District 50". www.vpap.org. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  5. Vyse, Graham (November 8, 2017). "How a Socialist Beat One of Virginia's Most Powerful Republicans". New Republic. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  6. Wilson, Patrick (October 22, 2017). "After pledging an aggressive race against GOP Del. Jackson Miller, state Democratic Party abandons populist challenger". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  7. Staff Reports. "UPDATED: Del. Lee Carter fends off challenge from Manassas City Councilman Mark Wolfe". Prince William Times. Retrieved Dec 16, 2020.
  8. Sides, Emily. "Carter facing challenges from Democrat, Republican". Inside Nova. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  9. Hunley, Jonathan (November 27, 2016). "After switching parties, Wolfe still wins reelection to Manassas City Council". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  10. "Carter holds on to 50th District seat representing Manassas". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
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