Jennifer McClellan

	Jen McClellan
	Democratic National Convention, 2016
Status:	Superdelegate
State:	Virginia
Supporting:	Hillary Clinton
	Delegates to the DNC 2016
	Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • State election law and delegates • Superdelegates by state

Jennifer McClellan (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Virginia's 4th Congressional District. She assumed office on March 7, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2025.

McClellan (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 4th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024. The Democratic primary for this office on June 18, 2024, was canceled.

McClellan previously served in the Virginia State Senate, representing District 9 from 2017 to 2023. She served in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 71 from 2006 to 2017.

Biography

Jennifer McClellan was born in Petersburg, Virginia. McClellan earned a B.A. in English and political science from the University of Richmond in 1994 and a J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1997. Her career experience includes working as assistant general counsel with Verizon and an associate with Hunton & Williams.^[1]^[2]

Committee assignments

2020-2021

McClellan was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

McClellan was assigned to the following committees:

2016 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, McClellan served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2016
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice
• Education

2015 legislative session

In the 2015 legislative session, McClellan served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2015
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice
• Education

2014 legislative session

In the 2014 legislative session, McClellan served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2014
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice
• Education

2012-2013

In the 2012-2013 legislative session, McClellan served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2012
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice
• Education

2010-2011

In the 2010-2011 legislative session, McClellan served on the following committees:

Virginia committee assignments, 2010
• Education
• Commerce and Labor
• Courts of Justice

Key votes

See also: Key votes

Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here.

Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023

The 118th United States Congress began on January 3, 2023, at which point Republicans held the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (222-212), and Democrats held the majority in the U.S. Senate (51-49). Joe Biden (D) was the president and Kamala Harris (D) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below using Congress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia.

Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023

Vote

Bill and description

Status

Yea

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (H.R. 2670) was a bill passed by the 118th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 22, 2023, authorizing Department of Defense activities and programs for fiscal year 2024. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to pass the bill as amended by a Senate and House conference report.^[3]

Passed (310-118)

Nay

Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023

The Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 (H.R. 2811) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to raise the federal debt limit before a June 5, 2023, deadline. The bill also sought to repeal certain green energy tax credits, increase domestic natural gas and oil production, expand work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, and nullify President Joe Biden's (D) proposed student loan debt cancellation program. This bill was not taken up in the Senate, and the debt limit was instead raised through the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.^[4]

Passed (217-215)

Nay

Lower Energy Costs Act

The Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to increase domestic energy production and exports by increasing the production of oil, natural gas, and coal, reducing permitting restrictions for pipelines, refineries, and other energy projects, and increase the production of minerals used in electronics, among other energy production-related policies. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.^[5]

Passed (225-204)

Yea

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R. 3746) was a bill passed by the 118th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on June 3, 2023. The bill raised the federal debt limit until January 2025. The bill also capped non-defense spending in fiscal year 2024, rescinded unspent coronavirus relief funding, rescinded some Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding, enhanced work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF), simplified environmental reviews for energy projects, and ended the student loan debt repayment pause in August 2023. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.^[6] Click here to read more.

Passed (314-117)

Yea

Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.

H.Res. 757 (Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that removed Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position as Speaker of the House. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[7] Click here to read more.

Passed (216-210)

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)

Speaker of the House election (October 2023) - 4th vote

In October 2023, following Rep. Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) removal as Speaker of the House, the House of Representatives held another election for the position. Voting began on October 17 and ended on October 25. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) was elected Speaker of the House in a 220-209 vote in the fourth round of voting. In order to elect a Speaker of the House, a majority of votes cast for a person by name was required.^[8] Click here to read more.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) (220-209)

Nay

Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Joseph Biden, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes.

H.Res. 918 (Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Joseph Biden, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that formally authorized an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden (D). The inquiry focused on allegations that Biden used his influence as vice president from 2009 to 2017 to improperly profit from his son Hunter Biden's business dealings. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[9] Click here to read more.

Passed (221-212)

Yea

Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives.

H.Res. 878 (Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that removed Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from office following a House Ethics Committee investigation that determined there was substantial evidence that Santos violated the law during his 2020 and 2022 campaigns. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House.^[10]

Passed (311-114)

Elections

2024

Virginia's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Republican primary)

Virginia's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Democratic primary)

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Incumbent Jennifer McClellan and Bill Moher are running in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Jennifer McClellan (D)
		Bill Moher (R)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jennifer McClellan advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 4.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Bill Moher advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 4.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2023

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Jennifer McClellan defeated Leon Benjamin Sr. in the special general election for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on February 21, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jennifer McClellan (D)	74.4	82,040
	Leon Benjamin Sr. (R)	25.5	28,083
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	129

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 110,252
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

Special Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Jennifer McClellan defeated Joseph Morrissey, Tavorise Marks, and Joseph Preston in the special Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on December 20, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jennifer McClellan (D)	84.8	23,661
	Joseph Morrissey (D)	13.6	3,782
	Tavorise Marks (D)	0.8	217
	Joseph Preston (D)	0.6	174
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	66

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,900
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Lamont Bagby (D)

Republican convention

Special Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Leon Benjamin Sr. defeated Derrick Hollie in the special Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on December 17, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Leon Benjamin Sr. (R)
		Derrick Hollie (R)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2021

Virginia gubernatorial election, 2021 (June 8 Democratic primary)

Virginia gubernatorial election, 2021 (May 8 Republican convention)

General election

General election for Governor of Virginia

Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe, Princess Blanding, and Paul Davis in the general election for Governor of Virginia on November 2, 2021.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Glenn Youngkin (R)	50.6	1,663,596
	Terry McAuliffe (D)	48.6	1,600,116
	Princess Blanding (Liberation Party)	0.7	23,125
	Paul Davis (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,593

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,289,430
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Brad Froman (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Virginia

Terry McAuliffe defeated Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Jennifer McClellan, Justin Fairfax, and Lee Carter in the Democratic primary for Governor of Virginia on June 8, 2021.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Terry McAuliffe	62.1	307,367
	Jennifer D. Carroll Foy	19.8	98,052
	Jennifer McClellan	11.8	58,213
	Justin Fairfax	3.6	17,606
	Lee Carter	2.8	13,694

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 494,932
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican Convention for Governor of Virginia

Select round:

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Glenn Youngkin in round 6 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,555
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

2019

General election

General election for Virginia State Senate District 9

Incumbent Jennifer McClellan defeated Mark Lewis in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 9 on November 5, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jennifer McClellan (D)	80.1	49,451
	Mark Lewis (L)	19.0	11,707
	Other/Write-in votes	1.0	613

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 61,771
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Virginia state legislative special elections, 2017

A special election for the position of Virginia State Senate District 9 was called for January 10.^[11]

The seat was vacant following Donald McEachin's (D) resignation in January 2017. He was elected to the 4th Congressional District of Virginia in November 2016.^[12]

Del. Jennifer McClellan (D) defeated Corey Maurice Fauconier (L) in the special election.^[13]^[14]

Virginia State Senate, District 9, Special Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jennifer McClellan	91.3%	7,849
	Libertarian	Corey Maurice Fauconier	8.1%	692
	Other	Write-in	0.6%	55
Total Votes				8,596
Source: Virginia Board of Elections

2015

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2015

Elections for the Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 9, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 26, 2015.^[15] Incumbent Jennifer McClellan was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Steve Imholt ran as an independent candidate. McClellan defeated Imholt in the general election.^[16]^[17]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 71 General Election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jennifer McClellan Incumbent	88.8%	9,809
	Independent	Steve Imholt	11.2%	1,231
Total Votes				11,040

2013

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2013

McClellan won re-election in the 2013 election for Virginia House of Delegates District 71. McClellan ran unopposed in the June 11 Democratic primary. She defeated Matthew Fitch (R) in the general election on November 5, 2013.^[18]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 71 General Election, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jenn McClellan Incumbent	87.8%	18,219
	Republican	Matthew Fitch	11.9%	2,468
	Other	Write-in	0.3%	67
Total Votes				20,754

2011

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2011

On November 8, 2011, McClellan won re-election to District 71 of the Virginia House of Delegates. She was uncontested in the August 23 primary and ran unopposed in the November 8 general election.^[19]

2009

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2009

In 2009, McClellan was re-elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.^[20]

Virginia House of Delegates General Election, District (2009)
Candidates		Votes
Jean McClellan (D)		11,628
Silver Persinger (I)		2,406

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Jennifer McClellan has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Jennifer McClellan asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Jennifer McClellan, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 17,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Jennifer McClellan to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@jennifermcclellan.com.

2023

Jennifer McClellan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

McClellan's campaign website stated the following:

“

Revitalizing the Economy

Jenn’s Perspective

Jenn McClellan comes from a long line of educators, small business owners, domestic workers, and laborers. Jenn’s family experienced the bold economic recovery plans of Reconstruction and the New Deal but through the lens of the economic inequity of Jim Crow. As other workers gained economic benefits, many of Jenn’s relatives were denied basic protections – leaving them struggling to earn enough money to care for their family.

Virginia families and businesses are facing the ongoing economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and inflation. In Congress, Jenn will fight for economic opportunity for all Virginia communities, ensuring that families can afford what they need and that businesses have the opportunities to grow and thrive. Jenn will advocate for a strong, inclusive, affordable and resilient economy that gives everyone an opportunity for prosperity while meeting the changing demands of technology and the marketplace and protecting workers’ rights.

Jenn’s Record

Jenn has been a legislative leader for a stronger, more inclusive economy and:

Led the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act to make Virginia a national leader in the clean energy sector – creating 13,000 clean energy jobs per year in the Commonwealth, and prioritizing low-income and historically economically-disadvantaged communities in the development of energy and job training programs and the placement of renewable facilities
Expanded worker protections through the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, the Virginia Values Act
Cosponsored a bill to expand collective bargaining to public employees, bills to provide paid sick leave, and paid family and medical leave to Virginia workers
Passed laws to stimulate new industries, including creating benefit corporations to make Virginia a hub of social entrepreneurship, removing red tape for local craft breweries – fostering job creation, and enabling the technology sector to work with transportation network companies to allow passengers to make reservations in advance and request specific designated drivers
Repeatedly supported and patroned laws to raise the minimum wage to $15, and eliminate minimum wage exemptions for workers over 65, individuals with disabilities, various jobs historically held by African-Americans, and domestic workers

Climate Action and Environmental Justice

Jenn’s Perspective

As the mother of two young kids, Jenn has been a leader in Virginia’s effort to address climate change today and for generations to come. Jenn wants to leave an inhabitable planet for her children, and all of our children, to inherit. Jenn’s faith also teaches her that we must be stewards of this planet. Jenn recognizes that climate change is an environmental issue, an economic issue, a health issue and a racial justice issue that we must take action to address.

Jenn understands how Black and Brown communities are disproportionately impacted by historic environmental policy, climate change and pollution. That’s why any plan to address climate change and preserve our natural resources must include environmental justice.

Jenn knows we are at a critical point in the fight against climate change. In Congress, she will build on the tremendous environmental legacy of Rep. McEachin, ensuring that all Virginia communities can benefit from historic climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act. She will work to ensure that federal climate funding puts environmental justice front-and-center, and that it supports Virginia’s progress under the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

Jenn’s Record

In the legislature, Jenn has been a leader in conserving Virginia’s natural resources, protecting the environment, and addressing climate change.

Led the Senate passage of the landmark Virginia Clean Economy Act—the most significant climate bill in Virginia history—to make Virginia the first Southern state with a 100% Clean Energy Standard, and create 13,000 clean energy jobs annually
Passed the Solar Freedom Act, which democratizes solar energy and removes barriers on local governments, residents, and businesses to harness solar power for their own use
Wrote and passed a bill to protect Virginia waterways from interstate pipeline projects
Chief-cosponsored the bill to create clean vehicle standards in Virginia and passed legislation expanding charging station infrastructure
Passed legislation to increase electric vehicle charging stations in Virginia
Introduced an Environmental Justice bill to require applicants for certain individual environmental permits to engage in community outreach
Cosponsored and passed legislation creating the New River Valley Passenger Rail Station Authority

Equity, Inclusivity and Racial Justice

Jenn’s Perspective

For 16 legislative sessions, Jenn has walked past the statue of former senator and segregationist Harry Byrd in Richmond’s Capitol Square knowing that she is his worst nightmare: A Black woman, a descendent of enslaved people, and the daughter of parents who endured Jim Crow, working to eradicate the very inequity and oppression that Harry Byrd worked to create and maintain. Jenn has spent her career dismantling the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow that still impacts communities today.

Jenn’s career is one of many “firsts.” In 2010, Jenn became the first member of the House of Delegates to serve the Commonwealth while pregnant. She was asked: “Are you retiring?” while an expecting father also serving office with her was not. This moment served as a reminder of the gender-based bias and inequities that continue to exist in our workplaces and lives. As the Vice Chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and Chair of Virginia’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, Jenn has led efforts to tell the complete and accurate story of Virginia’s past while working to achieve Dr. King’s vision of the “Beloved Community” through her community conversations, legislative, and policy efforts.

Jenn would be the first Black woman elected to Congress in Virginia history, and would use the opportunity to lift other Virginians up and ensure that all Virginians have a seat at the table for making policy.

Jenn’s Record

As a legislator, Jenn:

Led and passed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, the first state-level voting rights act in the South
Introduced and passed the Senate resolution to make Virginia the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
Spearheaded legislation repealing Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage and was a chief copatron of the Virginia Values Act, making Virginia the first state in the South to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
Patroned a 2021 criminal justice reform bill allowing people with intellectual/developmental disabilities and mental illness to provide evidence of their conditions at trial
Patroned The Pregnant Worker Fairness Act which extended protections against discrimination for pregnant and nursing workers and new mothers
Passed the bill to reform outdated and ineffective 1980s-era laws that criminalized HIV
Led a Senate bill to strengthen protections from workplace sexual harassment
Championed protections for immigrants and new Americans – fighting to ensure their access to voting rights and economic opportunity through legislation to increase interpretation and translation services to access state resources, improve health care options for undocumented children and pregnant people, and enable undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses
Passed legislation that added specialized personnel to schools to give support to serve special education students
Passed legislation to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately criminalizes students of color and students with disabilities
Passed a bill that required the state to publish data that showed Black and Brown students, and students with disabilities were being disproportionately suspended
Advocated for Indigenous communities, working closely with the Chickahominy Tribe in her Senate district to establish the *Virginia Indigenous People’s Trust Fund – which will disburse a portion of the Commonwealth’s gaming revenues to Virginia’s six recognized Tribes
Was integral in the Senate passing the legislation to ban the gay/trans-panic defense
Protected LGBTQ+ youth by cosponsoring the bill that made Virginia the first state in the South to ban conversion therapy for minors, and introduced and passed the bill to define and address bullying in schools
Pushed to increase funding for supported employment to ensure workers with disabilities were paid competitive wages
Successfully repealed vestiges of Jim Crow in Virginia law – repealing segregation laws, such as exemptions to worker protections through the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
Reformed the criminal justice system by passing legislation to raise the felony larceny threshold, end mandatory minimums for suspended drivers licenses, and expand parole eligibility for hundreds of incarcerated Virginians trapped in a legal loophole
Co-sponsored legislation to increase state employment with individuals with disabilities
Passed a law to expand eligibility through the Virginia Historical African American Cemeteries and Graves Fund, enabling Woodland Cemetery in Henrico County and other cemeteries established from 1900 to 1948 to receive support for maintenance and preservation.”

Gun Violence

Jenn’s Perspective

Jenn has seen the devastating impact of gun violence across the Commonwealth. As the mom of two school-age kids, Jenn supports enacting comprehensive gun reform to protect our families and make our communities safer. All of Virginia’s 1,000 annual gun deaths are preventable. As a member of Congress, Jenn will work to close loopholes and protect Virginians from gun violence.

Jenn’s Record

As a legislator, Jenn took on the NRA and fought for common-sense solutions to reduce gun violence. Jenn led the fight in the Senate to pass a bill in 2020 that requires the reporting of lost or stolen firearms, patroning bills on lost or stolen firearms since 2012. She cosponsored new laws to reinstate Virginia’s “one-gun-a-month rule” and to implement universal background checks. Jenn has also cosponsored legislation that allowed localities to prohibit guns in certain public spaces. McClellan led on a Senate bill that would establish a Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention to work across public safety and public health sectors to collect data and publish reports on violence caused by firearms, including suicide.

Health Care and Abortion Access

Jenn’s Perspective

Jenn also knows that access to quality health care is out of reach for too many Virginians. As a legislator, Jenn has fought to expand access to high quality, affordable health care, including preventative, reproductive, and mental health care. She passed the law that created a state exchange under Obamacare. And she passed landmark legislation that repealed unnecessary restrictions on abortion access, and made Virginia the first state in the South to proactively expand abortion access.

As a member of Congress, Jenn will continue to make access to a high-quality, affordable, comprehensive health care system available to everyone – from our newborn Virginians to those 50 and older- while also protecting the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship from undue government interference. Jenn will work to ensure that access to mental health and reproductive health resources are part of a comprehensive health care system.

Jenn’s Record

As the first member of the House of Delegates to be pregnant while in office, Jenn has been a fierce advocate for protecting access to reproductive care and supports for new mothers. Jenn:

Led the passage of the Reproductive Health Protection Act, the first proactive expansion of abortion rights in Virginia history, which eliminated mandatory ultrasounds, 24-hour waiting periods, and TRAP laws
Received the 2020 Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic’s Legislative Leadership & Courage Award, and the 2020 NARAL of Virginia’s Legislator of the Year Award for her work advancing access to reproductive care
Expanded access to birth control
Carried the bill to make Virginia the first state in the South to remove the ban on abortion coverage for health insurance plans offered through the health benefits exchange
Expanded nursing protections and supported Medicaid access for new mothers for the first full year after birth, and funding for home visiting programs for pregnant and postpartum care

In the General Assembly, Jenn has worked tirelessly to address health care disparities and expand access to care and coverage for Virginians. Jenn has:

Worked to expand access to and lower the cost of prescription drugs and expand access to preventative, reproductive, behavioral, and long-term care for all Virginians while making the health care system easier to understand and navigate
Created the Virginia Health Benefits Exchange under the Affordable Care Act, which will provide more affordable health insurance for approximately 300,000 Virginians
Led the fight for years to successfully expand Medicaid coverage to over 400,000 Virginians and has worked to expand services and reimbursement rates for providers
Cosponsored legislation to improve health insurance coverage for families whose children have been diagnosed with autism

Over the course of her legislative career, Jenn has emphasized the need for increased investment, destigmatization and decriminalization of mental health. In the General Assembly, Jenn:

Supported the creation, implementation, and $5.3 million dollars in funding for the STEP- VA program designed to improve the quality of community behavioral services in 2017; and an additional $30.2 million for fiscal year 2022 for STEP-VA, to address Accountability, Access, Quality, and Consistency across all Community Services Boards (CSBs) and to enable CSBs statewide to deliver, at a minimum, nine standard services plus care
Patroned a landmark justice reform bill that will make the criminal justice system more equitable for individuals with mental illness, autism, or developmental/intellectual disabilities by allowing evidence of their conditions to be presented during hearings
Patroned legislation directing the Board of Education to review and update the Standards of Learning for students to include mental health
Supported $1.6 million in funding to establish the Behavioral Health Loan Repayment Program to help increase behavioral health providers by coordinated efforts to recruit and retain providers in the Commonwealth

Voting Rights

Jenn’s Perspective

In 1901, Jennifer McClellan’s great-grandfather, Henry Davidson, went to his local registrar’s office in Alabama to register to vote. He was subjected to a difficult literacy test and then was told to find three white men to vouch for his character. Over forty years later, Jenn’s own father had to pay a poll tax to vote.

Jenn knows voting is the most precious right and fundamental act in our democracy. Yet throughout our country’s history, powerful forces have worked to silence voices and deny the franchise to many. In Congress, she will be a champion for voting rights, and will support legislation that guarantees easier access to the ballot.

Jenn’s Record

In the legislature, Jenn has always fought to ensure every Virginia voter can have equal and fair ballot access. Jenn’s first bill passed in the General Assembly expanded absentee voting in Virginia. This year, Jenn passed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, making Virginia the first state in the South to pass a voting rights act. The Virginia Voting Rights Act is modeled after the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and will protect voters in the Commonwealth from suppression, discrimination, and intimidation and expand language access to voters for whom English is a second language.

Jenn has fought against Republican attempts to impose unnecessary barriers to voting such as voter ID requirements. Jenn also cosponsored newly passed laws that remove restrictive voter ID requirements, and allow no-excuse absentee voting. She was also the Senate sponsor of a law that bans prison gerrymandering and stops gerrymandering based on racial or political data.

Justice Reform

Jenn’s Perspective

While serving in the General Assembly, Jenn has seen the impacts of the justice system on her constituents. Virginia’s justice system has disproportionately affected communities of color and individuals with disabilities, criminalized childhood behavior, poverty and mental health conditions, and failed to provide all defendants with fair trials. The justice system has focused more on punishment and incarceration than prevention and rehabilitation and doled out punishments that are disproportionate to crimes. That’s why Jenn is committed to transforming justice throughout the Commonwealth to create a generational cycle of restoration and re-entry rather than one of inequity.

Jenn’s Record

In the legislature, Jenn has been a leading and consistent champion of reforming the justice system to be truly just.

Over the past 15 years, Jenn:

Passed bills to break the school-to-prison pipeline
Cosponsored and helped to pass a sweeping police reform bill to require de-escalation attempts before use of force, require reporting of use of force incidents, and ban chokeholds, strangleholds and no-knock warrants
Served as a key member of the Caucus subcommittee that ushered in legislation to end “no knock” warrants, ban chokeholds, and require more accountability from law enforcement officers and agencies
Cosponsored the bill that abolished the death penalty in Virginia
Patroned and cosponsored bills to reduce the criminalization of low-level offenses, including increasing the felony larceny threshold; repealing the Habitual Offender Act; and decriminalizing HIV status
Passed legislation to make hundreds of Virginians eligible for parole
Passed a resolution to examine the impacts of Virginia’s marijuana laws, which paved the way for enacting just marijuana policy. Introduced the amendment to move the timeline for marijuana legalization from 2024 to July 1, 2021
Passed a landmark justice reform bill that will make the criminal justice system more equitable for individuals with mental illness, autism, or developmental/intellectual disabilities by allowing evidence of their conditions to be presented during hearings
Cosponsored legislation reforming Virginia’s bail and sentencing laws
Passed a law to strengthen Virginia’s Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development Act (DPYDA), providing prevention services for at-risk youth before they enter the juvenile justice system.

Serving Virginia’s Veterans and Active Duty Military Personnel

Jenn’s Prospective

Virginia is a Commonwealth rich in military history, which proudly houses some of our nation’s key military facilities. Jenn believes it is essential to protect and support those Virginians who have defended our freedom by serving in our military. One in 12 Virginians is a veteran and the Commonwealth has the greatest number of veterans in the workforce per capita. But many veterans experience difficulties readjusting to civilian life. Jenn knows many military families face the same problems that affect all Virginians including food insecurity, difficulty finding affordable and reliable childcare, and financial hardship. Military families also deal with unique challenges including constant stress that comes from deployments, separation, and the emotional and physical toll that accompanies military service.

Jenn’s Record

Throughout her time in the General Assembly, Jenn has supported measures that honor our active duty military and veterans. Jenn has:

Supported legislation that formed the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program that assists veterans with employment and post-service job training opportunities.
Supported legislation that created the Military Medics and Corpsmen (MMAC) program, the first in the nation to specifically assist military medical personnel with medical employment opportunities following their service.
Supported implementation of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act, which expanded voting rights for active duty servicepeople.
Supported legislation that created Women Veterans Week.

Transportation

Jenn’s Perspective

As a member of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority Board and Senate Transportation Committee, Jenn has been a leader on key transportation decisions in both the Richmond area and across the Commonwealth. She understands that Virginia must make significant investments in transportation infrastructure, including improving roads and bridges, investing in public transportation, and providing infrastructure for a transition to electric vehicles.

In Congress, Jenn will support a multimodal transportation system that provides for the most efficient, accessible travel options for people and products while also protecting and preserving the environment. She will advocate for public transportation funding and to provide electrification infrastructure that reduces emissions from Virginia’s transportation sector.

Jenn’s Record

Jenn has worked to improve Virginia’s transportation infrastructure. As state Senator, she:

Cosponsored a new law that modernizes Virginia’s transportation system this year with the Clean Car Standard to curb vehicle emissions and transition Virginia to an all-electric vehicle fleet
Passed legislation to increase electric vehicle charging stations in Virginia
Supported an electric vehicle rebate to help make electric vehicles more affordable in Virginia
Initiated a study to create an east-west Commonwealth Corridor passenger rail service which would connect Hampton Roads, Richmond, and the New River Valley
Supported the 2020 transportation bill that streamlined transportation funding allocation and secured sustainable revenues for WMATA and VRE
Cosponsored a bill to create a regional passenger rail station authority for the New River Valley

Education and Child Care

Jenn’s Perspective

Jenn’s mom was the 12th of 14 children and the first member of her family to go beyond the 8th grade and graduate college. She went on to become an early childhood educator and college counselor. Jenn’s dad was a third-generation educator. Jenn’s parents taught her that a good education is the key to economic opportunity, thriving communities, and a healthy democracy. As a graduate of Chesterfield Public Schools and the mother of children in Richmond Public Schools, Jenn has a long record of fighting to increase education investment and improve our schools to build Virginia’s future.

The path to success in school and life begins at birth and is shaped before kindergarten- 90 percent of a child’s brain develops before age 5. The foundation for an equitable and high-quality education starts with infant care and early childhood education.

As a working mother of two young kids, Jenn also knows how hard it is to find affordable, quality child care. As a legislator, Jenn has seen firsthand the child care crisis in Virginia. Even before the pandemic, Virginia was ranked 41st in the country in child care affordability, putting a major strain on Virginia families and our economy. The pandemic has worsened the child care crisis. More than 40% of Virginia’s child care facilities closed, and it has sent a ripple effect through Virginia’s economy – including women dropping out of the workforce at record rates. The crisis has disproportionately impacted women and Black and Brown communities in Virginia.

In Congress, Jenn will support major federal investments to improve access to child care, including supporting bills similar to Sen. Tim Kaine and Sen. Patty Murray’s 2022 proposal on child care funding. She will also make funding K-12 education and supporting Virginia’s educators and parents a top priority.

Jenn’s Record

In the legislature, Jenn has laid the groundwork to stabilize and invest in the child care industry.

Championed the passage of the Child Care Stabilization and Quality Care Act, which provided greater financial stability for child care and early childhood education providers by launching a new two-year pilot program creating flexibility in how federal subsidy dollars are used, and allowed for portable background checks to address workforce shortages. Jenn’s bill made Virginia “a leader in moving down the path of providing flexibility and stability to the child care sector,” according to Voices for Virginia Children
Cosponsored legislation that created a statewide unified system for early childhood care and education
Supported a bill that strengthened background checks for child care providers

As a legislator, Jenn has led the fight to fully fund Virginia’s K-12 public schools and address inequities in the education system.

Led the passage of a 2021 bill that invests $50 million in hiring more school support staff, such as social workers, nurses, and mental health professionals
Spearheaded legislation that created the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which will make funding recommendations to fix crumbling schools across the Commonwealth
For two years in a row, chief sponsored a bill to increase Virginia public school funding by $2 billion by fully funding the Virginia Board of Education’s recommended Standards of Quality, including addressing educational inequity
Passed two bills to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, which had led to increased racial disparities in Virginia’s education system
Fought for higher educator pay and increased support staffing, including a 2020 amendment to give teachers a 5% raise, and a 2019 amendment to hire more administrators and school staff
Received the Virginia Education Association “Legislator of the Year” award in 2021, and numerous Virginia Education Association Legislative Champion awards for her work to improve school funding
Created the School Construction Fund and Program to provide grants to Virginia K-12 schools that need support for construction and modernization. Fought for budget amendments that provided $1.2 billion for school construction in the 2022 budget.
Passed a law requiring that every Virginia elementary school have a full-time principal and providing funding for hiring needed principals.

Jenn has also been fighting for equity and affordability in higher education.

Supported legislation that will require more transparency from higher education governing boards
Cosponsored the bill which will make tuition-free community college available to low- and middle-income students who pursue jobs in high-demand fields
Cosponsored legislation that allows DACA Dreamers to qualify for in-state tuition^[21]

”

—Jennifer McClellan's campaign website (2022)^[22]

2021

Jennifer McClellan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

McClellan's campaign website stated the following:

“

Jenn's Vision for Virginia's Future

As the daughter of educators and community leaders who were born and raised during the Depression in the segregated South, Senator Jennifer McClellan has spent 15 years in the state legislature representing the Greater Richmond region, working to break down barriers and open doors of opportunity for the people of Virginia.

Jenn has been a driving force for delivering progressive change in Virginia – especially for women, children, and families. She is the only legislator in America who has led the passage of a state Voting Rights Act, a 100% clean energy standard, and a law proactively expanding reproductive rights. Jenn also led Virginia’s generational progress on education funding, criminal justice reform, the Equal Rights Amendment, protections for pregnant and domestic workers, and expanding health care access by creating the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange under the Affordable Care Act.

But even with all the progress Virginia has made, too many of our communities, our experiences, and our voices have been left behind. The coronavirus crisis has brought dramatic changes and challenges to the lives of millions of Virginians, exposed the depth of the inequity in our Commonwealth, and made it worse.

Now, Jenn is running for Governor to tackle those challenges and build a better future for millions of families across Virginia. As governor, Jenn will bring her perspective and experience to rebuild Virginia from the pandemic, by breaking down barriers and opening doors of opportunity in the economy, health care, education, and justice systems — in a way that includes all Virginians.

Jenn learned from her parents that government could be a force of oppression or it could be a force for change and solving people’s problems. That inspired her to bring about change, through nearly three decades of public service, including 15 years in the legislature. She has worked to strengthen the Virginia Democratic Party, including serving as Party Vice Chair, and helping build it into a force that today has been chosen by the people to lead in both the legislature and all statewide offices.

Jenn is running for Governor because so many of us are tired of fighting the same fights that our parents, our grandparents, and our great-grandparents fought. These fights are about racial equity and ensuring all Virginians have access to a high-quality education from birth to career, access to health care, economic opportunity, voting rights, and so much more. As a mom of two young kids, Jenn knows we need to continue these fights to build a better Commonwealth for Virginia families, and for all Virginia children to grow up in.

Our next Governor must look to the future – not the past – to address these challenges and bring the change Virginia needs. As she has done in the legislature, as Governor, Jenn will not only bring diverse voices to the decision-making table, but take the table out into our communities to center the voices and perspectives of those impacted by government policies.

Check out Jenn’s issue pages to learn more about how Jenn will break down barriers and open doors of opportunity for the people of Virginia in our economy and our health care system, our education system, and our safety nets in a way that includes all of us.

Affordable Housing

Jenn's Perspective

Quality, affordable housing is fundamental to the success of every family. Where you live determines the jobs you can reach, the schools your children can attend, the food you can consume, and even the quality of air you breathe. As a legislator, Jenn has seen too many Virginians struggle to find – or keep – affordable housing. Jenn understands that rental and purchasing costs are rising faster than incomes, evictions and foreclosures are devastating families and communities. Houselessness is on the rise for the first time in a decade, and housing insecurity is a pressing issue for many across the Commonwealth. The Coronavirus crisis has exacerbated the housing crisis. Jenn is committed to providing and maintaining affordable and stable housing for all Virginians, free from discrimination, because everyone deserves a safe place to call home.

Jenn's Record

Jenn has fought throughout her time in the legislature to provide and protect affordable housing:

In the wake of the Great Recession’s foreclosure crisis, then-Delegate McClellan passed the Trust in Lending Act to add additional protections for homeowners dealing with mortgage brokers
This year, Jenn carried the Preserving the American Dream Act creating protections from foreclosure to help Virginians stay in their homes and expand access to quality manufactured housing – one of the most accessible affordable housing options in the Commonwealth
Last year, Jenn passed the Tenants Bill of Rights empowering tenants to take action when their landlord allows property to fall into disrepair or become unsafe and lays out clear responsibilities of tenants to report such conditions
She also passed bills to:

Ensure public housing demolitions give proper notice to tenants
Encourage local governments to create affordable housing
Increase affordable housing and address gentrification in the city of Richmond

Jenn has also supported many bills over the years to protect Virginians from evictions, including:

Cosponsoring legislation that prevented landlords from using 'self-help' evictions
Cosponsoring legislation that required landlords to offer payment plans
Cosponsoring legislation that created an Eviction Diversion Pilot Program

Jenn has a long history of standing up to housing discrimination, sponsoring or supporting every bill to strengthen the Virginia Fair Housing Law, including bills to add to the list of protected characteristics – sexual orientation, gender identity, source of funds, and military status – and prohibit localities from discriminating against affordable housing proposals

Jenn's Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Create a Virginia Statewide Housing Voucher system
Increase funding to the Housing Trust Fund to provide for ongoing eviction relief and invest in affordable housing programs with a goal of functionally ending houselessness
Expand the current eviction diversion pilot programs – specialized court dockets designed to assist low-income families during an eviction case
Create an equity Home Ownership Fund that targets historically disadvantaged families and individuals to qualify for housing grants for first-time home ownership increasing both stable housing, and building intergenerational wealth
Continue adjusting state laws to incentivize mixed-used and affordable housing construction
Combat eviction and barriers to housing through legislation that provides for eviction prevention, diversion and expanding tenant rights and protections
Ensure the statewide rent relief program is on-going and will invest $108 million annually into this fund
Increase legal aid funding

Climate Action and Environmental Justice

Jenn’s Perspective

As the mother of two young kids, Jenn has been a leader in Virginia’s effort to address climate change today and for generations to come. Jenn wants to leave an inhabitable planet for her children, and all of our children, to inherit. Jenn’s faith also teaches her that we must be stewards of this planet. Jenn recognizes that climate change is an environmental issue, an economic issue, a health issue and a racial justice issue that we must take action to address.

Jenn understands how Black and Brown communities are disproportionately impacted by historic environmental policy, climate change and pollution. That’s why any plan to address climate change and preserve our natural resources must include environmental justice.

Jenn knows we are at a critical point in the fight against climate change and addressing human impact on the environment. That means we must not only transition to energy, transportation, manufacturing, and agricultural policies that reduce environmental impact, but reduce state and local government environmental impacts as well. She will center environmental justice in all decisions that impact our environment and communities.

Jenn’s Record

In the legislature, Jenn has been a leader in conserving Virginia’s natural resources, protecting the environment, and addressing climate change.

Led the Senate passage of the landmark Virginia Clean Economy Act—the most significant climate bill in Virginia history—to make Virginia the first Southern state with a 100% Clean :*Energy Standard, and create 13,000 clean energy jobs annually
Passed the Solar Freedom Act, which democratizes solar energy and removes barriers on local governments, residents, and businesses to harness solar power for their own use
Wrote and passed a bill to protect Virginia waterways from interstate pipeline projects
Chief-cosponsored the bill to create clean vehicle standards in Virginia and passed legislation expanding charging station infrastructure
Passed legislation to increase electric vehicle charging stations in Virginia
Introduced an Environmental Justice bill to require applicants for certain individual environmental permits to engage in community outreach
Cosponsored and passed legislation creating the New River Valley Passenger Rail Station Authority

Jenn's Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Make Virginia the #1 state for clean energy in America
Fully implement the Virginia Clean Economy Act and work with the Biden-Harris Administration to reach 100% clean energy by 2035
Make clean energy jobs a centerpiece of Virginia’s economic recovery by promoting sustainable solutions and innovation in all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and building infrastructure
Require environmental justice to be at the center of every project and enshrined in all state agency actions to address the long-standing inequities of Black and Brown communities facing health effects from pollution and fossil fuels
Make Virginia a national leader in electric vehicles and create a path for Virginia to have 100% low and zero-emissions vehicles by 2035
Introduce legislation that utilizes Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funding to invest in coastal resiliency and conservation of natural resources
Prepare Virginia for the impacts of climate change
Protect Virginia’s parks and green spaces

Equity, Inclusivity and Racial Justice

Jenn's Perspective

For 16 legislative sessions, Jenn has walked past the statue of former senator and segregationist Harry Byrd in Richmond’s Capitol Square knowing that she is his worst nightmare: A Black woman, a descendent of enslaved people, and the daughter of parents who endured Jim Crow, working to eradicate the very inequity and oppression that Harry Byrd worked to create and maintain. Jenn has spent her career dismantling the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow that still impacts communities today.

Jenn’s career is one of many 'firsts.' In 2010, Jenn became the first member of the House of Delegates to serve the Commonwealth while pregnant. She was asked: 'Are you retiring?' while an expecting father also serving office with her was not. This moment served as a reminder of the gender-based bias and inequities that continue to exist in our workplaces and lives. As the Vice Chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and Chair of Virginia’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, Jenn has led efforts to tell the complete and accurate story of Virginia’s past while working to achieve Dr. King’s vision of the 'Beloved Community' through her community conversations, legislative, and policy efforts.

As Governor of Virginia, Jenn will shatter more than one glass ceiling as the first woman, first Black woman, and first Generation X candidate elected to the office. Jenn understands that inequity based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability is baked into all systems touched by state government and views public policy through the same lens. Jenn’s presence and policies will make sure that today’s 'firsts' become tomorrow’s norms in Virginia.

Jenn's Record

As a legislator, Jenn:

Led and passed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, the first state-level voting rights act in the South
Introduced and passed the Senate resolution to make Virginia the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
Spearheaded legislation repealing Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage and was a chief copatron of the Virginia Values Act, making Virginia the first state in the South to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
Patroned a 2021 criminal justice reform bill allowing people with intellectual disabilities and mental illness to provide evidence of their conditions at trial
Patroned The Pregnant Worker Fairness Act which extended protections against discrimination for pregnant and nursing workers and new mothers
Passed the bill to reform outdated and ineffective 1980s-era laws that criminalized HIV
Led a Senate bill to strengthen protections from workplace sexual harassment
Championed protections for immigrants and new Americans – fighting to ensure their access to voting rights and economic opportunity through legislation to increase interpretation and translation services to access state resources, improve health care options for undocumented children and pregnant people, and enable undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses
Passed legislation that added specialized personnel to schools to give support to serve special education students
Passed legislation to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately criminalizes students of color and students with disabilities
Passed a bill that required the state to publish data that showed Black and Brown students, and students with disabilities were being disproportionately suspended
Advocated for Indigenous communities, working closely with the Chickahominy Tribe in her Senate district to establish the Virginia Indigenous People’s Trust Fund – which will disburse a portion of the Commonwealth’s gaming revenues to Virginia’s six recognized Tribes
Was integral in the Senate passing the legislation to ban the gay/trans-panic defense
Protected LGBTQ+ youth by cosponsoring the bill that made Virginia the first state in the South to ban conversion therapy for minors, and introduced and passed the bill to define and address bullying in schools
Pushed to increase funding for supported employment to ensure workers with disabilities were paid competitive wages
Successfully repealed vestiges of Jim Crow in Virginia law – repealing segregation laws, such as exemptions to worker protections through the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
Reformed the criminal justice system by passing legislation to raise the felony larceny threshold, end mandatory minimums for suspended drivers licenses, and expand parole eligibility for hundreds of incarcerated Virginians trapped in a legal loophole

Gun Violence

Jenn's Perspective

Jenn has seen the devastating impact of gun violence across the Commonwealth: from the mass shootings at Virginia Tech and Virginia Beach to the continued gun violence around Virginia that often results from domestic violence. As the mom of two school-age kids, Jenn supports enacting comprehensive gun reform to protect our families and make our communities safer. All of Virginia’s 1,000 annual gun deaths are preventable and Jenn believes it’s time to fix the problem.

Jenn's Record

As a legislator, Jenn took on the NRA and fought for common-sense solutions to reduce gun violence. Jenn led the fight in the Senate to pass a bill in 2020 that requires the reporting of lost or stolen firearms, patroning bills on lost or stolen firearms since 2012. She cosponsored new laws to reinstate Virginia’s 'one-gun-a-month rule' and to implement universal background checks. Jenn has also cosponsored legislation that allowed localities to prohibit guns in certain public spaces.

Jenn's Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Require permit purchase on gun sales
Eliminate open carry laws that have historically intimidated Virginia’s citizens of color
Require background checks for those who buy guns from unlicensed dealers
Enact an assault weapons ban
Require background checks for gun rentals
Invest in Safe Communities grants – providing communities with the resources they need to tackle gun violence and provide the mental health resources needed to fight the suicide epidemic while directly engaging communities to determine their specific needs

Health Care

Jenn's Perspective

Jenn knows that too many people are one accident or illness away from economic devastation. Jenn also knows that access to quality health care is out of reach for too many Virginians. The Coronavirus crisis has further exposed the disparities in our health care system and the strains on our health care safety nets. As a legislator, Jenn has fought to expand access to high quality, affordable health care, including preventative, reproductive, and mental health care.

As Governor, Jenn will continue to make access to a high-quality, affordable, comprehensive health care system available to everyone – from our newborn Virginians to those 50 and older- while also protecting the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship from undue government interference. Jenn will work to ensure that access to mental health and reproductive health resources are part of a comprehensive health care system.

Jenn’s Record

In the General Assembly, Jenn has worked tirelessly to address health care disparities and expand access to care and coverage for Virginians. Jenn has:

Created the Virginia Health Benefits Exchange under the Affordable Care Act, which will provide more affordable health insurance for approximately 300,000 Virginians
Led the fight for years to successfully expand Medicaid coverage to over 400,000 Virginians and has worked to expand services and reimbursement rates for providers
Worked to expand access to and lower the cost of prescription drugs and expand access to preventative, reproductive, behavioral, and long-term care for all Virginians while making the health care system easier to understand and navigate
Cosponsored legislation to improve health insurance coverage for families whose children have been diagnosed with autism

As the first member of the House of Delegates to be pregnant while in office, Jenn has been a fierce advocate for protecting access to reproductive care and supports for new mothers. Jenn:

Led the passage of the Reproductive Health Protection Act, the first proactive expansion of abortion rights in Virginia history, which eliminated mandatory ultrasounds, 24-hour waiting periods, and TRAP laws
Expanded access to birth control
Carried the bill to make Virginia the first state in the South to remove the ban on abortion coverage for health insurance plans offered through the health benefits exchange
Received the Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic’s Legislative Leadership & Courage Award, and the 2020 NARAL of Virginia’s Legislator of the Year Award for her work advancing access to reproductive care
Expanded nursing protections and supported Medicaid access for new mothers for the first full year after birth, and funding for home visiting programs for pregnant and postpartum care

Over the course of her legislative career, Jenn has emphasized the need for increased investment, destigmatization and decriminalization of mental health. In the General Assembly, Jenn:

Supported the creation, implementation, and $5.3 million dollars in funding for the STEP- VA program designed to improve the quality of community behavioral services in 2017; and an additional $30.2 million for fiscal year 2022 for STEP-VA, to address Accountability, Access, Quality, and Consistency across all Community Services Boards (CSBs) and to enable CSBs statewide to deliver, at a minimum, nine standard services plus care
Patroned a landmark justice reform bill that will make the criminal justice system more equitable for individuals with mental illness, autism, or developmental/intellectual disabilities by allowing evidence of their conditions to be presented during hearings
Patroned legislation directing the Board of Education to review and update the Standards of Learning for students to include mental health
Supported $1.6 million in funding to establish the Behavioral Health Loan Repayment Program to help increase behavioral health providers by coordinated efforts to recruit and retain providers in the Commonwealth

Jenn's Vision

As Governor, Jenn will continue to make access to a high quality, affordable, comprehensive health care system available to all Virginians. In Jenn’s vision for the future comprehensive care includes breaking down barriers so access reproductive health care and mental health care.

Jenn will:

Close access gaps for areas of Virginia that don’t have providers by expanding telehealth options and look at expanding scope of practice
Coordinate care that considers social inequities and a path to provide wrap-around services for needed additional resources outside of health care services
Implement the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange to improve access, lower premiums and improve efficiency of health care for Virginians
Address the disproportionate impacts of maternal mortality for women of color
Invest in bias and cultural training for health care providers and work to increase diversity in the health provider workforce
Breaking down barriers to care and resources for Veterans including providing mental health resources for the suicide epidemic among our veterans
Reform Virginia’s mental health care system with a comprehensive plan to break down barriers to accessing mental health care and ensure it is part of coordinated care with our health care system
Protect the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationships from undue government interference
Protect reproductive health care and expand access to care – ensuring that every Virginian can afford and access the reproductive care they need
Pass a constitutional amendment to enshrine the principles of Roe v. Wade
Focus on Early Intervention, Prevention, and Wellness across the Lifespan
Continue building and Strengthening Trauma-Informed Crisis System and Comprehensive Continuum of Care
Improve accountability, quality, and oversight within the behavioral health system
Work to destigmatize substance addiction while combating the opioid epidemic and making treatment more widely available
Strengthen the mental health workforce
Make equity a driving force of state mental health funding and other resources (i.e. direct agencies to adopt needs based funding formulas in allocating funds to communities/localities)

Justice Reform

Jenn's Perspective

While serving in the General Assembly, Jenn has seen the impacts of the justice system on her constituents. Virginia’s justice system has disproportionately affected communities of color and individuals with disabilities, criminalized childhood behavior, poverty and mental health conditions, and failed to provide all defendants with fair trials. The justice system has focused more on punishment and incarceration than prevention and rehabilitation and doled out punishments that are disproportionate to crimes. That’s why Jenn is committed to transforming justice throughout the Commonwealth to create a generational cycle of restoration and re-entry rather than one of inequity.

Jenn's Record

In the legislature, Jenn has been a leading and consistent champion of reforming the justice system to be truly just.

Over the past 15 years, Jenn:

Passed bills to break the school-to-prison pipeline
Cosponsored and helped to pass a sweeping police reform bill to require de-escalation attempts before use of force, require reporting of use of force incidents, and ban chokeholds, strangleholds and no-knock warrants
Served as a key member of the Caucus subcommittee that ushered in legislation to end 'no knock' warrants, ban chokeholds, and require more accountability from law enforcement officers and agencies
Cosponsored the bill that abolished the death penalty in Virginia
Patroned and cosponsored bills to reduce the criminalization of low-level offenses, including increasing the felony larceny threshold; repealing the Habitual Offender Act; and decriminalizing HIV status
Passed legislation to make hundreds of Virginians eligible for parole
Passed a resolution to examine the impacts of Virginia’s marijuana laws, which paved the way for enacting just marijuana policy. Introduced the amendment to move the timeline for marijuana legalization from 2024 to July 1, 2021
Passed a landmark justice reform bill that will make the criminal justice system more equitable for individuals with mental illness, autism, or developmental/intellectual disabilities by allowing evidence of their conditions to be presented during hearings
Cosponsored legislation reforming Virginia’s bail and sentencing laws

Jenn’s Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences
Repeal or reform low-level offenses that criminalize childhood behavior, poverty, addiction, and mental illness
Dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline
Reform and require greater transparency in the pre-trial systems and eliminate cash bail to end the criminalization of low-income Virginians
Champion restorative practices, including restoration of rights for previously and currently incarcerated Virginians
Enact Virginia’s marijuana legalization and commercialization equitably and redress the disproportionate harm against Virginia’s Black community through priority licensing and allocating revenue to communities most directly harmed by marijuna prohibition and criminalization
Continue reforming the judicial process so fair trials are not dependent on socioeconomic status and ensure sentences are proportionate to the crime
Reform incarceration to focus on rehabilitation and re-entry

Open and Transparent Government

Jenn's Perspective

The combination of Jenn’s passion for meaningful policy and her ability to see, hear, and listen to the challenges within her district has been a driving force for elevating her constituents’ voices. Jenn believes leaders must be accessible to their community and that transparency, accountability and lifting up community voices is key to good governance. Jenn wants to lead a transparent Virginia where all Virginians can participate in the democratic process. To achieve this, Virginia needs campaign finance reform to create greater transparency and accountability and to rebuild public trust and good government. Virginia is among the states with the weakest campaign finance laws.

As a working mom with young children, Jenn also knows the challenges of running for office while working and parenting two young children. The current system has inherent barriers that make it difficult for people to run for office due to their parental status, age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. This limits diverse representation and participation in the legislative process. Our democracy is governed by, for, and of the people and it can only thrive when everyone can participate.

Jenn believes that we need comprehensive campaign finance reform and ethics regulations to restore faith in our open and transparent political system where everyone can contribute.

Jenn's Record

In the legislature, Jenn has fought to keep Virginia’s government ethical and accessible while operating a constituent-focused office. Jenn:

Cosponsored bipartisan ethics reform legislation that limited gifts that elected officials could accept from lobbyists and businesses
Cosponsored the law that created the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council
Supported a measure to create a comprehensive campaign finance reform committee
As a member of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, Jenn also supported campaign finance reform bills including:

Limiting all campaign contributions from public utilities, like Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power
Enacting campaign contribution limits.
Creating more stringent rules for banning personal use of campaign finance funds, with the exception of child care costs

Introduced legislation to make sure Virginians were not overpaying for utilities while public utilities were overearning

Jenn's Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Ban contributions from regulated public utility monopolies
Prohibit the use of campaign funds for personal use except in the case of child care
Empower the Ethics Council to investigate ethics violations in order to ensure accountability from our elected officials
Limit the size of campaign contributions
Promote accessibility – updating and reviewing regulatory notice and comment procedures to make the process more accessible to the community to ensure community voices and input are being heard and elevated

Revitalizing the Economy

Jenn's Perspective

Jenn McClellan comes from a long line of educators, small business owners, domestic workers, and laborers. Jenn’s family experienced the bold economic recovery plans of Reconstruction and the New Deal but through the lens of the economic inequity of Jim Crow. As other workers gained economic benefits, many of Jenn’s relatives were denied basic protections – leaving them struggling to earn enough money to care for their family.

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified existing inequities and vulnerabilities in our economy. Virginia’s economy faces its greatest crisis in at least a generation, and every community across the Commonwealth has been hurt. Jenn is running for Governor to build a strong, inclusive, and resilient economy that gives everyone an opportunity for prosperity while meeting the changing demands of technology and the marketplace. She will build an economy that makes Virginia #1 for both workers and businesses.

Jenn's Record

Jenn has been a legislative leader for a stronger, more inclusive economy and:

Led the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act to make Virginia a national leader in the clean energy sector – creating 13,000 clean energy jobs per year in the Commonwealth, and prioritizing low-income and historically economically-disadvantaged communities in the development of energy and job training programs and the placement of renewable facilities
Expanded worker protections through the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, the Virginia Values Act
Cosponsored a bill to expand collective bargaining to public employees, bills to provide paid sick leave, and paid family and medical leave to Virginia workers
Passed laws to stimulate new industries, including creating benefit corporations to make Virginia a hub of social entrepreneurship, removing red tape for local craft breweries – fostering job creation, and enabling the technology sector to work with transportation network companies to allow passengers to make reservations in advance and request specific designated drivers
Repeatedly supported and patroned laws to raise the minimum wage to $15, and eliminate minimum wage exemptions for workers over 65, individuals with disabilities, various jobs historically held by African-Americans, and domestic workers

Jenn’s Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Make Virginia number #1 in the country for workers and businesses
Build back a post-COVID economy that centers around workers and small business owners who have suffered the brunt of economic disparities exacerbated by the pandemic
Invest in Virginia’s workforce and strengthen workplace protections by establishing a paid family and medical leave program, and paid sick leave
Extend and modernize the unemployment system by allowing phone and email communication to become standard, require more timely responses from employers contesting workers’ claims, more leeway to forgive overpayments, and ensure 500,000 Virginia gig workers can opt into unemployment insurance
Expedite the transition to a $15 minimum wage, remove barriers to collective bargaining, including for public employees, and require those who benefit from a collective bargaining agreement or union representation in a grievance process to contribute to the cost for the service
Combat wage theft and worker misclassification
Create a COVID Long-Term Effects Small Business Loan, enabling Virginia small business owners to apply for a low-interest 30-year loan that allows for reinvestment in their business without red tape and with the potential for loan forgiveness
Increase funding to help small businesses with access to capital through increased funding partnerships with entities like the Virginia Community Capital Bank. She will increase funding to the Virginia Community Development Financial Institutions Fund by $2.5 million per year for a period of five years to provide greater support and resources for SWaM and micro businesses
Direct her administration to comprehensively study what laws and tax structures need to be updated to help make Small, Women, and Minority (SWaM) owned businesses, especially brick and mortar, more competitive
Make Virginia a national hub for clean energy job growth, building on the success of the Virginia Clean Economy Act with further action to expand deployment of solar and wind technology and invest in clean vehicles while creating green jobs and democratizing clean energy access by eliminating solar and wind tariffs
Collaborate with the Biden-Harris Administration to implement their 'Build Back Better' agenda and implement policies to make Virginia the #1 state for both business and workers

Transportation

Jenn's Perspective

As a member of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority Board and Senate Transportation Committee, Jenn has been a leader on key transportation decisions in both the Richmond area and across the Commonwealth. She understands that Virginia must make significant investments in transportation infrastructure, including improving roads and bridges, investing in public transportation, and providing infrastructure for a transition to electric vehicles.

Jenn believes the Commonwealth needs to focus on creating a multimodal transportation system that provides for the most efficient, accessible travel options for people and products while also protecting and preserving the environment.

Jenn’s Record

Jenn has worked to improve Virginia’s transportation infrastructure. As state Senator, she:

Cosponsored a new law that modernizes Virginia’s transportation system this year with the Clean Car Standard to curb vehicle emissions and transition Virginia to an all-electric vehicle fleet
Passed legislation to increase electric vehicle charging stations in Virginia
Supported an electric vehicle rebate to help make electric vehicles more affordable in Virginia
Initiated a study to create an east-west Commonwealth Corridor passenger rail service which would connect Hampton Roads, Richmond, and the New River Valley
Supported the 2020 transportation bill that streamlined transportation funding allocation and secured sustainable revenues for WMATA and VRE
Cosponsored a bill to create a regional passenger rail station authority for the New River Valley

Jenn’s Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Invest in multi-modal transportation infrastures including roads and bridges – electric vehicles, ports, trains, bicycles and pedestrian infrastructure
Expand high-speed rail infrastructure, open and maintain an east-west rail transit system and work with the Biden-Harris Administration’s $2 trillion dollar infrastructure plan to fund a mass transit revolution.
Make Virginia a national leader in electric vehicles and create a path for Virginia to be 100 percent low- and zero-emissions vehicles by 2035
Decarbonize public transportation and the state fleet
Protect commuting buses
Provide more funding for local public transit including Metro funding
Reward localities that make public transit a priority with more funding for road maintenance
Require a public transportation plan be submitted for all new major housing and industrial developments

Universal Child Care and Education

Jenn’s Perspective

Jenn’s mom was the 12th of 14 children and the first member of her family to go beyond the 8th grade and graduate college. She went on to become an early childhood educator and college counselor. Jenn’s dad was a third-generation educator. Jenn’s parents taught her that a good education is the key to economic opportunity, thriving communities, and a healthy democracy. As a graduate of Chesterfield Public Schools and the mother of children in Richmond Public Schools, Jenn has a long record of fighting to increase education investment and improve our schools to build Virginia’s future.

The path to success in school and life begins at birth and is shaped before kindergarten- 90 percent of a child’s brain develops before age 5. The foundation for an equitable and high-quality education starts with infant care and early childhood education.

As a working mother of two young kids, Jenn also knows how hard it is to find affordable, quality child care. As a legislator, Jenn has seen firsthand the child care crisis in Virginia. Even before the pandemic, Virginia was ranked 41st in the country in child care affordability, putting a major strain on Virginia families and our economy. The pandemic has worsened the child care crisis. More than 40% of Virginia’s child care facilities closed, and it has sent a ripple effect through Virginia’s economy – including women dropping out of the workforce at record rates. The crisis has disproportionately impacted women and Black and Brown communities in Virginia.

Equity is at the heart of Jenn’s education plan from birth to career. Access to quality education should not depend on what zip code you live in, but decades of underfunding have resulted in Virginia having some of the top and lowest performing schools in the nation. These inequities exist in Virginia’s early childhood, K-12 and higher education systems. These disparities hurt students’ ability to access a future of economic opportunity, which in turn impacts how our communities and democracy thrive.

Jenn’s Record

In the legislature, Jenn has laid the groundwork to stabilize and invest in the child care industry.

Championed the passage of the Child Care Stabilization and Quality Care Act, which provided greater financial stability for child care and early childhood education providers by launching a new two-year pilot program creating flexibility in how federal subsidy dollars are used, and allowed for portable background checks to address workforce shortages. Jenn’s bill made Virginia 'a leader in moving down the path of providing flexibility and stability to the child care sector,' according to Voices for Virginia Children
Cosponsored legislation that created a statewide unified system for early childhood care and education
Supported a bill that strengthened background checks for child care providers

As a legislator, Jenn has led the fight to fully fund Virginia’s K-12 public schools and address inequities in the education system.

Led the passage of a 2021 bill that invests $50 million in hiring more school support staff, such as social workers, nurses, and mental health professionals
Spearheaded legislation that created the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which will make funding recommendations to fix crumbling schools across the Commonwealth
For two years in a row, chief sponsored a bill to increase Virginia public school funding by $2 billion by fully funding the Virginia Board of Education’s recommended Standards of Quality, including addressing educational inequity
Passed two bills to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, which had led to increased racial disparities in Virginia’s education system
Fought for higher educator pay and increased support staffing, including a 2020 amendment to give teachers a 5% raise, and a 2019 amendment to hire more administrators and school staff
Received the Virginia Education Association 'Legislator of the Year' award in 2021, and numerous Virginia Education Association Legislative Champion awards for her work to improve school funding

Jenn has also been fighting for equity and affordability in higher education.

Supported legislation that will require more transparency from higher education governing boards
Cosponsored the bill which will make tuition-free community college available to low- and middle-income students who pursue jobs in high-demand fields
Cosponsored legislation that allows DACA Dreamers to qualify for in-state tuition

Jenn’s Vision for Universal Child Care and Early Learning

As Governor, Jenn will:

Provide universal child care by 2025, ensuring that every Virginia child has access to affordable child care
Provide families up to 200% of the poverty level a waiver for free child care
Ensure no family in Virginia will pay above 7% of their income for child care
Put more than 80,000 more Virginians to work in our child care system, make sure more kids receive quality early childhood education, and support families’ work-life balance

Jenn’s Vision for K-12

As Governor, Jenn will:

Invest a record $2.3 billion more per year into Virginia’s K-12 education system
Fully implement and fund the Board of Education’s Standards of Quality
Create an Equity Accountability Program to address educational inequities, including a new Director of Inclusion & Diversity under the Secretariat of Education, establish a new School-to-:*Prison Pipeline Task Force, and require all school districts to set concrete policies to address racism and bias
Bring much-needed reform to the Local Composite Index, updating the funding model to accurately calculate the true needs of school divisions
Increase teacher salaries to an average of $65,000 in order to remain nationally competitive and retain the best teachers, and do right by the Commonwealth’s educators
Lift the funding cap on school support staff, providing $350 million to ensure a ratio of no more than 250 students per 1 school social worker, school psychologist, school nurse, licensed behavior analyst, licensed assistant behavior analyst, other licensed health and behavioral positions, assistant principals, and custodial staff
Update the profile of a 21st Century Graduate and reform the early childhood, K-12, and educator prep program curriculum to ensure that students have the life and work-ready skills and competencies they need to succeed in the 21st century
Reform Virginia’s standards of learning and assessment programs to evaluate student learning and growth rather than how well they perform on multiple choice standardized tests
Address long-standing inequities in special education
Empower local school divisions to determine when to start and end the school year
Modernize teacher preparation programs and licensure and build and sustain a robust, diverse teacher workforce
Create a sustainable and dedicated fund to address school infrastructure issues, while accelerating the deployment of solar power to school districts that are implementing renewable energy programs

Jenn’s Vision for Higher Education

As Governor Jenn will:

Increase state funding for higher education to move away from a model that relies heavily on tuition and fees
Require four-year colleges to set goals for low-income and middle-class student enrollment levels
Work closely with the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia to monitor higher education institutions’ actions and take budgetary or administrative action or seek legislative action necessary to ensure Virginia is adequately and fairly meeting the needs of our students and employees
Implement Get Skilled, Get a Job, and Give Back program, and ensure it continues to be funded in her budgets. This new program focuses on low- and middle-income students pursuing degrees in high demand areas in health care, skilled trades, technology, early childhood education, and law enforcement
Create a new funding stream exclusively dedicated to Virginia’s HBCUs
Work with the Biden-Harris Administration to address the burden of student loan debt and to implement their $2 trillion dollar infrastructure plan that will designate billions for community colleges and HBCUs
Ensure higher education institutions are meeting the financial aid and support needs of students, particularly low-income and first-generation students

Voting Rights

Jenn's Perspective

In 1901, Jennifer McClellan’s great-grandfather, Henry Davidson, went to his local registrar’s office in Alabama to register to vote. He was subjected to a difficult literacy test and then was told to find three white men to vouch for his character. Over forty years later, Jenn’s own father had to pay a poll tax to vote.

Jenn knows voting is the most precious right and fundamental act in our democracy. Yet throughout our country’s history, powerful forces have worked to silence voices and deny the franchise to many. Jenn believes Virginia must remain a bedrock to protect the fundamental right to vote. She is determined to see that Virginia proactively safeguards access to the ballot for all voters.

Jenn's Record

In the legislature, Jenn has always fought to ensure every Virginia voter can have equal and fair ballot access. Jenn’s first bill passed in the General Assembly expanded absentee voting in Virginia. This year, Jenn passed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, making Virginia the first state in the South to pass a voting rights act. The Virginia Voting Rights Act is modeled after the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and will protect voters in the Commonwealth from suppression, discrimination, and intimidation and expand language access to voters for whom English is a second language.

Jenn has fought against Republican attempts to impose unnecessary barriers to voting such as voter ID requirements. Jenn also cosponsored newly passed laws that remove restrictive voter ID requirements, and allow no-excuse absentee voting. She was also the Senate sponsor of a law that bans prison gerrymandering and stops gerrymandering based on racial or political data.

Jenn’s Vision

As Governor, Jenn will:

Protect and defend the significant recent voting rights progress made in Virginia
Continue working to end gerrymandering
Ensure that our elections system is free, fair and accessible to all
Modernize ballot-tracking software and infrastructure to increase transparency and efficiency in the vote-by-mail system
Work towards a vote-by-mail system that automatically sends every voter a ballot
Ensure polling places are fully accessible to voters with disabilities^[21]

”

—Jennifer McClellan's campaign website (2021)^[23]

2019

Jennifer McClellan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

2013

McClellan’s website highlighted the following campaign themes:^[24]

Affordable Housing

Excerpt: "Richmond property values are climbing every day, in some neighborhoods faster than wages. Richmond also has become an economically segregated city, yet neighborhoods with low, moderate and high income housing integrated together lead to the strongest communities. Jennifer understands that stable housing is a significant step to self-sufficiency, and is committed to maintaining affordable housing for all income levels..."

Education

Excerpt: "The Constitution of Virginia guarantees a high quality, free public school system for all children in the Commonwealth. However, Virginia has not always lived up to that promise. As the daughter of a third generation educator, Jennifer understands that a quality education is not just a lofty goal, but the key to success and financial independence. For that reason, Jennifer is committed to ensuring that Virginia provides its children with a high quality, free public education, and that Virginia builds a world-class system from pre-k to higher education."

Energy and the Environment

Excerpt: "As a member of the Commerce & Labor Committee, Jennifer has focused on efforts to conserve Virginia’s natural resources and promote renewable energy and green jobs. She has also consistently supported funding for combined sewer overflow projects in the cities of Lynchburg and Richmond, water quality improvement, cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia’s park system, and conservation of Virginia land."

Healthcare

Excerpt: "All Virginians deserve access to quality healthcare. However, too many are paying more for it, and far too many working Virginians do not have access. Obesity rates are climbing at an alarming rate. Virginia’s infant mortality rate is 32nd in the nation. Jennifer is committed to common solutions to these problems, such as focusing on prenatal care, long-term care for our seniors and making the health care system more affordable and easier for citizens to navigate and understand."

Jobs and the Economy

Excerpt: "While the cost of living has increased 27 percent over the past 10 years, many wages have not kept pace. As a result, too many working Virginians are living below the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Jennifer has supported efforts to increase wages by co-sponsoring legislation increasing the minimum wage and supporting efforts to increase state employee, teacher, and higher education faculty salaries. Jennifer has also worked to ensure working Virginians can keep their wages without falling victim to predatory lending practices by seeking meaningful reform of the payday lending industry."

2009

On her official website McClellan states, "My top priorities as your Delegate are supporting our public schools through better pay for our teachers, smaller class sizes for our children, and increased school construction and renovation funding, helping small businesses thrive in the Virginia economy, and ensuring our public safety officials have the tools and training they need to keep Virginians safe."

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage and endorsements scopes.

Notable candidate endorsements by Jennifer McClellan
Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Missy Cotter Smasal ^source (D)	U.S. House Virginia District 2 (2024)	Primary	Advanced in Primary
Joe Biden ^source (D)	President of the United States (2024)	Primary	–
Alicia Atkins ^source (Nonpartisan)	Henrico County Public Schools, Varina District (2023)	General	Won General
Dustin R. Keith ^source (Independent)	Russell County Public Schools, At-large (2023)	General	–
Madison Irving ^source (Nonpartisan)	Henrico County Public Schools, Three Chopt District (2023)	General	Won General
Dominique Renee Chatters ^source (Nonpartisan)	Chesterfield County Public Schools, Dale District (2023)	General	Won General
Traci Noelle Franssen ^source (Nonpartisan)	Chesterfield County Public Schools, Matoaca District (2023)	General	Lost General

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia Logo Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Jennifer McClellan campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Virginia District 4	On the Ballot general	$2,207,276	$2,036,305
2023*	U.S. House Virginia District 4	Won general	$1,723,601	$1,553,384
2021	Governor of Virginia	Lost primary	$2,939,105	$2,028,867
2019	Virginia State Senate District 9	Won general	$372,629	N/A**
Grand total			$7,242,611	$5,618,555
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only availabale data.

2016 Democratic National Convention

Delegate to the 2016 DNC (click to expand)

See also: Democratic National Convention, 2016

McClellan was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from Virginia.^[25] McClellan was one of 13 superdelegates from Virginia. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus results to support a specific presidential candidate. McClellan supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.^[26]Clinton formally won the Democratic nomination for president on July 26, 2016.^[27]

What is a superdelegate?

See also: Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.^[28]

Virginia primary results

See also: Presidential election in Virginia, 2016

Hillary Clinton won the Virginia Democratic primaries, defeating opponent Bernie Sanders by almost 30 percentage points. Multiple news outlets called the election in her favor shortly after polls closed at 7:00 pm EST.^[29] Clinton lost the Virginia Democratic primary in 2008 to Barack Obama. Clinton won nearly all of the counties in the eastern half of the state including those surrounding Washington, D.C. (she won Arlington County 67 to 33 percent). Sanders picked up some of the state's more rural counties in the western half.^[30]

Virginia Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Hillary Clinton	64.3%	504,741	62
Bernie Sanders	35.2%	276,370	33
Martin O'Malley	0.5%	3,930	0
Totals		785,041	95
Source: CNN and Virginia Department of Elections

Delegate allocation

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Virginia had 108 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 95 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.^[31]^[32]

Thirteen party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.^[31]^[33]

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Virginia

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023

In 2023, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to February 25.

Sierra Club Virginia Chapter

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Institute for Legislative Analysis

Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Virginia Education Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Manufactures Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the manufacturing sector.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 12.

Sierra Club Virginia Chapter

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Virginia Education Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Manufactures Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the manufacturing sector.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to February 8.

Club for Growth Foundation

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

Leap Forward

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills the organization chose to evaluate.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

National Federation of Independent Business-Virginia

Legislators are scored based on their votes on small business issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Virginia Education Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 12. A special session was held from August 18 to November 9.

Club for Growth Foundation

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Virginia Education Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Chapter Sierra Club

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the climate and energy.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through February 24.

Club for Growth Foundation

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

National Federation of Independent Business-Virginia: 2018-2019 voting record

Legislators are scored based on their votes on small business issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2018-2019 report card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Virginia Chapter Sierra Club

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the climate and energy.

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Education Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Free

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation House and Senate

Legislators are scored based on their votes toward various bills supported by the organization

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 10 through March 10. Special sessions were held from April 11 to May 30 and from August 30 to October 30.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2018-2019 report card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

The Middle Resolution

Legislators are scored on their voting record related to The Middle Resolution's priorities.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Virginia Chapter Sierra Club

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the climate and energy.

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Education Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Free

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation House and Senate

Legislators are scored based on their votes toward various bills supported by the organization

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through February 25.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2016-2017 report card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia: 2016-2017 legislative voting record

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Virginia Chapter Sierra Club

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the climate and energy.

Virginia Citizens Defense League: 2017 scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Education Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Free

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation House and Senate

Legislators are scored based on their votes toward various bills supported by the organization

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 13 through March 11.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia: 2016-2017 legislative voting record

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership: 2016 scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on business and quality of life issues.

The American Conservative Union: 2016 scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2016-2017 report card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

Virginia Citizens Defense League: 2016 scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Chamber of Commerce: 2016 legislative report card

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues during the 2016-2017 legislative session.

Virginia Chapter Sierra Club: 2016 scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the climate and energy.

Virginia Education Association: 2016 scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Free: 2016 legislator ratings

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters: 2016 scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation: House and Senate

Legislators are scored on their votes on 11 bills chosen by the Virginia Tea Party Patriots.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].

In 2015, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 14 to February 28, 2015.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia: 2014-2015 Legislative Voting Record

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

National Federation of Independent Business-Virginia: 2014-2015 voting record

Legislators are scored based on their votes on small business issues.

Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership: 2015 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on business and quality of life issues.

The American Conservative Union: 2015 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2014-2015 Report Card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

Virginia Chamber of Commerce: 2015 Legislative Report Card

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues during the 2014-2015 legislative session.

Virginia Chapter Sierra Club: 2015 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the climate and energy.

Virginia Citizens Defense League: 2015 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Education Association: 2015 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Free: 2014/2015 Legislator Ratings

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters: 2015 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation: House - Senate

Legislators are scored on their votes on 16 bills chosen by the Virginia Tea Party Patriots.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 10.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia: 2014-2015 Legislative Voting Record

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

National Federation of Independent Business-Virginia: 2014-2015 voting record

Legislators are scored based on their votes on small business issues.

Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership: 2014 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on business and quality of life issues.

The American Conservative Union: 2014 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2014-2015 Report Card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

Virginia Chamber of Commerce: 2014 Legislative Report Card

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues during the 2014-2015 legislative session.

Virginia Chapter Sierra Club: 2014 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the climate and energy.

Virginia Citizens Defense League: 2014 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Education Association: 2014 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Virginia Free: 2014/2015 Legislator Ratings

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters: 2014 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Manufacturers Association: 2014 Legislative Wrap Up

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that VMA introduced or was part of a coalition that introduced it.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation: House - Senate

Legislators are scored on their votes on ten bills chosen by the Virginia Tea Party Patriots.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].

In 2013, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 9 to February 25.

EV Advocates: 2012-2013 Legislative Scorecard

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on the issue of equality.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia: 2012-2013 Legislative Voting Record

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

The American Conservative Union: 2013 Legislative scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2012-2013 Report Card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

Virginia Citizens Defense League: 2013 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.

Virginia Free: 2013 Legislator Ratings

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters: 2013 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation: House - Senate

Legislators are scored on their votes on fifteen bills chosen by the Virginia Tea Party Patriots.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].

In 2012, the Virginia General Assembly was in regular session from January 11 to March 10.

EV Advocates: 2012-2013 Legislative Scorecard

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on the issue of equality.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia: 2012-2013 Legislative Voting Record

Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.

The American Conservative Union: 2012 Legislative scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Family Foundation of Virginia: 2012-2013 Report Card

Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."

Virginia Free: 2012 Legislator Ratings

Legislators are scored based on legislation related to business and industry issues.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters: 2012 Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation: House - Senate

Legislators are scored on their votes on twelve bills chosen by the Virginia Tea Party Patriots.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
McClellan and her husband, David Mills, have one child, Jackson. They live in Richmond, VA.^[34]

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

U.S. House Virginia District 4

Officeholder

U.S. House Virginia District 4

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Senate of Virginia, "Jennifer L. McClellan," accessed January 2, 2023
↑ LinkedIn, "Jennifer McClellan," accessed January 2, 2023
↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.2670 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024," accessed February 23, 2024
↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.2811 - Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023," accessed February 23, 2024
↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.1 - Lower Energy Costs Act," accessed February 23, 2024
↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.3746 - Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023," accessed February 23, 2024
↑ Congress.gov, "H.Res.757 - Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.," accessed February 23, 2024
↑ Congress.gov, "Roll Call 527," accessed February 23, 2024
↑ Congress.gov, "H.Res.757 - Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant." accessed February 23, 2024
↑ Congress.gov, "H.Res.878 - Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives." accessed February 23, 2024
↑ wdbj7, "Virginia to hold special elections for three open seats on January 10," accessed December 4, 2016
↑ The Richmonder, "Donald McEachin to announce Congressional run tomorrow," March 14, 2016
↑ wtvr.com, "Jennifer McClellan named Democratic nominee for 9th Senate District special election," accessed December 4, 2016
↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2017 January GA Specials," accessed January 10, 2017
↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 Primary election results," accessed September 1, 2015
↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 General election candidates," accessed September 1, 2015
↑ Virginia Board of Elections, “Official Results - 2013 General Election," accessed December 2, 2013
↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014
↑ Follow the Money, "Virginia House of Delegates 2009 General Election Results," accessed May 15, 2014
↑ ^21.0 ^21.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Jennifer McClellan for Congress, “Issues,” accessed January 2, 2023
↑ Jennifer McClellan's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed April 7, 2021
↑ Jennifer McClellan, "Issues," accessed September 9, 2013
↑ Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016. If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
↑ Augusta Free Press, “Top Virginia Democrats line up behind Hillary Clinton presidential campaign,” October 5, 2015
↑ To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
↑ Wall Street Journal, "Hillary Clinton Wins Virginia, Georgia; Bernie Sanders Takes Vermont," March 1, 2016
↑ The New York Times, "Virginia Primary Results," March 2, 2016
↑ ^31.0 ^31.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
↑ Project Vote Smart, "Jenn McClellan - Biography," accessed September 9, 2013

Political offices
Preceded by Aston Donald McEachin (D)	U.S. House Virginia District 4 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Virginia State Senate District 9 2017-2023	Succeeded by Lamont Bagby (D)
Preceded by -	Virginia House of Delegates District 71 2006-2017	Succeeded by -

[show]

Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tim Kaine (D)

Mark Warner (D)

Representatives

District 1

Rob Wittman (R)

District 2

Jennifer Kiggans (R)

District 3

Bobby Scott (D)

District 4

Jennifer McClellan (D)

District 5

Bob Good (R)

District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline (R)

District 7

Abigail Spanberger (D)

District 8

Donald Sternoff Beyer (D)

District 9

H. Morgan Griffith (R)

District 10

Jennifer Wexton (D)

District 11

Gerald Edward Connolly (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (5)

[show]

Current members of the Virginia State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Scott Surovell

Minority Leader:Ryan McDougle

Senators

District 1

Timmy French (R)

District 2

Mark Obenshain (R)

District 3

Chris Head (R)

District 4

David Suetterlein (R)

District 5

Travis Hackworth (R)

District 6

Todd Pillion (R)

District 7

Bill Stanley (R)

District 8

Mark Peake (R)

District 9

Tammy Mulchi (R)

District 10

John McGuire (R)

District 11

Creigh Deeds (D)

District 12

Glen Sturtevant (R)

District 13

Lashrecse Aird (D)

District 14

Lamont Bagby (D)

District 15

Ghazala Hashmi (D)

District 16

Schuyler VanValkenburg (D)

District 17

Emily Jordan (R)

District 18

Louise Lucas (D)

District 19

Christie Craig (R)

District 20

Bill DeSteph (R)

District 21

Angelia Graves (D)

District 22

Aaron Rouse (D)

District 23

Mamie Locke (D)

District 24

J.D. Diggs (R)

District 25

Richard Stuart (R)

District 26

Ryan McDougle (R)

District 27

Tara Durant (R)

District 28

Bryce Reeves (R)

District 29

Jeremy McPike (D)

District 30

Danica Roem (D)

District 31

Russet Perry (D)

District 32

Suhas Subramanyam (D)

District 33

Jennifer Carroll Foy (D)

District 34

Scott Surovell (D)

District 35

Dave Marsden (D)

District 36

Stella Pekarsky (D)

District 37

Saddam Salim (D)

District 38

Jennifer Boysko (D)

District 39

Adam Ebbin (D)

District 40

Barbara Favola (D)

Democratic Party (21)

Republican Party (19)

[bio-1] Senate of Virginia, "Jennifer L. McClellan," accessed January 2, 2023

[bio2-2] LinkedIn, "Jennifer McClellan," accessed January 2, 2023

[3] Congress.gov, "H.R.2670 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024," accessed February 23, 2024

[4] Congress.gov, "H.R.2811 - Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023," accessed February 23, 2024

[5] Congress.gov, "H.R.1 - Lower Energy Costs Act," accessed February 23, 2024

[6] Congress.gov, "H.R.3746 - Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023," accessed February 23, 2024

[7] Congress.gov, "H.Res.757 - Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.," accessed February 23, 2024

[8] Congress.gov, "Roll Call 527," accessed February 23, 2024

[9] Congress.gov, "H.Res.757 - Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant." accessed February 23, 2024

[10] Congress.gov, "H.Res.878 - Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives." accessed February 23, 2024

[11] wdbj7, "Virginia to hold special elections for three open seats on January 10," accessed December 4, 2016

[vasd9ret17-12] The Richmonder, "Donald McEachin to announce Congressional run tomorrow," March 14, 2016

[13] wtvr.com, "Jennifer McClellan named Democratic nominee for 9th Senate District special election," accessed December 4, 2016

[14] Virginia Board of Elections, "2017 January GA Specials," accessed January 10, 2017

[15] Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015

[16] Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 Primary election results," accessed September 1, 2015

[17] Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 General election candidates," accessed September 1, 2015

[18] Virginia Board of Elections, “Official Results - 2013 General Election," accessed December 2, 2013

[19] Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014

[20] Follow the Money, "Virginia House of Delegates 2009 General Election Results," accessed May 15, 2014

[quotedisclaimer-21] 21.0 ^21.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[22] Jennifer McClellan for Congress, “Issues,” accessed January 2, 2023

[23] Jennifer McClellan's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed April 7, 2021

[24] Jennifer McClellan, "Issues," accessed September 9, 2013

[25] Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016. If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

[26] Augusta Free Press, “Top Virginia Democrats line up behind Hillary Clinton presidential campaign,” October 5, 2015

[27] To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

[28] Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015

[29] Wall Street Journal, "Hillary Clinton Wins Virginia, Georgia; Bernie Sanders Takes Vermont," March 1, 2016

[counties-30] The New York Times, "Virginia Primary Results," March 2, 2016

[apdem-31] 31.0 ^31.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016

[32] The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021

[33] Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016

[bioPVS-34] Project Vote Smart, "Jenn McClellan - Biography," accessed September 9, 2013

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
Glenn Youngkin	54.7	6,868	1,557	Advanced (6)
Pete Snyder	45.3	5,686	1,608	6
Amanda Chase	0.0	0	-3,164	6
Kirk Cox	0.0	0	0	5
Sergio de la Pena	0.0	0	0	4
Peter Doran	0.0	0	0	3
Octavia L. Johnson	0.0	0	0	1

Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
Glenn Youngkin	42.3	5,311	979	Advanced (6)
Pete Snyder	32.5	4,078	575	6
Amanda Chase	25.2	3,164	305	6
Kirk Cox	0.0	0	-1,860	5
Sergio de la Pena	0.0	0	0	4
Peter Doran	0.0	0	0	3
Octavia L. Johnson	0.0	0	0	1

Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
Glenn Youngkin	34.5	4,332	183	Advanced (6)
Pete Snyder	27.9	3,503	253	6
Amanda Chase	22.8	2,859	239	6
Kirk Cox	14.8	1,860	154	5
Sergio de la Pena	0.0	0	-830	4
Peter Doran	0.0	0	0	3
Octavia L. Johnson	0.0	0	0	1

Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
Glenn Youngkin	33.0	4,149	8	Advanced (6)
Pete Snyder	25.9	3,250	6	6
Amanda Chase	20.9	2,620	8	6
Kirk Cox	13.6	1,706	8	5
Sergio de la Pena	6.6	830	17	4
Peter Doran	0.0	0	-48	3
Octavia L. Johnson	0.0	0	0	1

Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
Glenn Youngkin	33.0	4,141	9	Advanced (6)
Pete Snyder	25.8	3,244	2	6
Amanda Chase	20.8	2,612	6	6
Kirk Cox	13.5	1,698	4	5
Sergio de la Pena	6.5	813	8	4
Peter Doran	0.4	48	6	3
Octavia L. Johnson	0.0	0	-34	1

	v • e State of Virginia Richmond (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2024 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

Jennifer McClellan

Biography

Committee assignments

2020-2021

2019-2020

2016 legislative session

2015 legislative session

2014 legislative session

2012-2013

2010-2011

Key votes

Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023

Elections

2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

Endorsements

2023

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Democratic convention

Special Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican convention

Special Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 4

2021

General election

General election for Governor of Virginia

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Virginia

Republican convention

Republican Convention for Governor of Virginia

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

2019

General election

General election for Virginia State Senate District 9

2017

2015

2013

2011

2009

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2023

Campaign website

2021

Campaign website

2019

2013

2009

Notable endorsements

Campaign finance summary

2016 Democratic National Convention

What is a superdelegate?

Virginia primary results

Delegate allocation

Sponsored legislation

Scorecards

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

Personal

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting