Jennifer Wexton | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's10th district | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Barbara Comstock |
| Succeeded by | Suhas Subramanyam |
| Member of theVirginia Senate from the33rd district | |
| In office January 24, 2014 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Herring |
| Succeeded by | Jennifer Boysko |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jennifer Lynn Tosini (1968-05-27)May 27, 1968 (age 57) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park (BA) College of William and Mary (JD) |
Jennifer Lynn Wexton (néeTosini, May 27, 1968) is an American politician and lawyer who served as theU.S. representative forVirginia's 10th congressional district from 2019 to 2025. A member of theDemocratic Party, she previously served in theVirginia Senate from 2014 to 2019.
Prior to her election to Congress, she represented the33rd district, which includes parts of Fairfax and Loudoun Counties from 2014 to 2019.
In2018, Wexton defeatedRepublican incumbentBarbara Comstock with 56% of the vote. She was re-elected in 2020 and 2022. Some commentators have described Wexton as amoderate Democrat. In September 2023, after being diagnosed withprogressive supranuclear palsy, Wexton announced that she would not seek re-election in2024. She was succeeded by Democraticstate senatorSuhas Subramanyam.
Wexton is fromLeesburg, Virginia. Her father and mother were senior economists at theUnited States Department of the Treasury and theCommodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively.[1]
In 1992, Wexton graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Maryland, College Park. She then enrolled at theCollege of William & Mary'sLaw School and received aJuris Doctor in 1995.[1][2] At William & Mary, she was a member ofPhi Delta Phi, a legal honor society.[3]
Wexton was apartner in the Laurel Brigade Law Group.[4] She served as a substitute judge inLoudoun County, Virginia, and from 2001 to 2005 as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney.[5][6]
Wexton successfully prosecuted Clara Jane Schwartz for the murder of her father,Robert Schwartz.[7] She ran for Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney in2011, narrowly losing to Republican incumbent Jim Plowman.[8][9] She was elected to theVirginia Senate in 2014.[4][6]
AfterMark Herring, who represented the33rd district in the Virginia Senate, won the2013 election forattorney general of Virginia, Wexton declared her candidacy in thespecial election to fill the seat. The district includes northeasternLoudoun County and northwesternFairfax County.[8] In the Democratic primary, Wexton defeatedHerndon Town Councilor Sheila Olem.[10] In a campaign ad Wexton spoke of her experience defending victims of rape and assault and said she would "fight just as hard against tea party Republicans who would take away a woman's health care and her right to choose, even in cases of rape and incest." TheRepublican Party of Virginia criticized the ad, saying it comparedTea Party activists to rapists; Wexton's campaign denied the comparison.[11] She faced RepublicanJohn Whitbeck and Republican-turned-IndependentJoe T. May in the January 2014 special election, and won 53%–38%–10%.[12] She took office on January 24, 2014,[13] and was reelected in the November 2015 general election. After being elected to the United States House of Representatives, Wexton resigned her Virginia Senate seat on January 3, 2019.
In April 2017, Wexton announced that she would run in the Democratic primary for the 10th district.[5] Her state senate district included much of the eastern portion of the congressional district, wrapping aroundLeesburg andSterling. In June 2018 she won a six-way primary to become the Democratic nominee.[14] She defeated Alison Friedman, Lindsey Davis Stover, Deep Sran, Dan Helmer, Paul Pelletier, and Julia Biggins in the Democratic primary. In the November general election she defeated Republican incumbentBarbara Comstock[15] with 56% of the vote to Comstock's 44%.[16]
Wexton's victory meant that a Democrat would represent the 10th district for the first time since 1981.[17] The district had been represented by a Republican in Congress for 60 of the previous 66 years.[18] Wexton's victory also meant that until the next voting cycle, no Republicans would represent a congressional district in the immediate Washington, D.C. region.[19]
Wexton was reelected to a second term in 2020, defeating the Republican nominee, former U.S. marine Aliscia Andrews.[20]
Wexton was reelected to a third term in 2022, defeating Republican nominee and U.S. Navy veteranHung Cao, 53.2% to 46.7%.[21]
Shortly after defeating Comstock, Wexton declared her support forD.C. statehood.[22]
Wexton opposedNancy Pelosi forspeaker when running for Congress in 2018,[23] but voted for Pelosi for speaker in 2019.[24]
In May 2019, Wexton called forHUD SecretaryBen Carson's resignation after his House testimony that month.[25]
In July 2019, Wexton visited two mosques in Northern Virginia to hear from Muslim residents after President Donald Trump vilified Somali-born congresswomanIlhan Omar at a campaign rally.[26][27] Later that month, she announced her support for voting toimpeach Trump over his request that Ukraine announce an investigation into his political rivalJoe Biden.[28][29][30][31] On August 23, 2019, Wexton formed a newcongressional caucus to examine and promoteagritourism, which she believes could bring economic and social benefits to areas like theLoudoun Valley.[32][33]
In September 2020, Wexton authored the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020, a bill to require all publicly traded US companies to disclose whether any of their goods or part of their supply chain can be traced to the use of forced labor by ethnic minorities in Chinese internment camps or factories. The act was a companion bill to theUyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which seeks to keep goods made with forced labor of detained ethnic minorities in China out of the US.[34]
During Donald Trump's presidency, Wexton voted in line with the president's stated position 6.5% of the time.[35] During the117th Congress, she voted with PresidentJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[36]
After being diagnosed withprogressive supra-nuclear palsy in September 2023, Wexton announced that she would not seek reelection in 2024.[37][38]
On July 25, 2024, Wexton became the first member of the House of Representatives to have a model of her voice generated byartificial intelligence speak for her on the House floor. This also made her the first member of the House of Representatives to use anyaugmentative and alternative communication device on the House floor. The model said in part, "My battle with progressive Supranuclear palsy, or PSP, has robbed me of my ability to use my full voice and move around in the ways that I used to."[39]
Some commentators have called Wexton amoderate Democrat.[42][26] She has emphasized her willingness to compromise and work with both Republicans and Democrats.[43]
On February 9, 2023, Wexton voted to allow theDistrict of Columbia's Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 to take effect. This act was a rewrite and modernization of the criminal code and included reductions in the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking, and robbery.[44][45]
In a 2019 town hall event, Wexton described herself as acapitalist.[46] In 2020, she supported increasing federal spending on infrastructure improvements and subsidies for the US airline industry, which was hit by decreased travel demand during thecoronavirus pandemic. She also supports expanding broadband access, particularly in rural areas.[47]
Wexton supports a bill to study the utility of credit card transactions as a warning tool for mass shootings. She suggested that "theSecond Amendment and gun-violence prevention laws can coexist."[46]
Wexton supports apublic option for health care, suggesting that it would provide increased competition in areas with fewer private insurance options. She does not support "Medicare for All", a proposal to create asingle-payer healthcare system and eliminate private insurance. She supports granting the federal government the ability to negotiateprescription drug prices.[46]
Wexton supports strengthening theAffordable Care Act and opposes the Trump administration's efforts to convince the US Supreme Court to invalidate the law. In a 2020 debate, she argued that striking down the ACA would once again allow insurance companies to impose lifetime health care spending limits.[47]
Wexton supports expanding the federal seasonal agricultural worker visa program and theH-1B visa program.[47]
Wexton supports making it easier for workers to unionize. She criticized the Trump administration for not enforcing federally mandated workplace protections during the coronavirus pandemic.[47]
In January 2019, Wexton hung atransgender pride flag outside her office to show her support for thetransgender community.[48][49] In February 2021, Wexton tweeted in support ofMarie Newman, who has a transgender daughter, after Newman received criticism from Republican representativeMarjorie Taylor Greene for hanging a transgender flag outside her office as the House passed theEquality Act.[50]
| Date | Election | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney | |||||
| November 8, 2011[51] | General | James E. "Jim" Plowman | Republican | 26,050 | 51.83 |
| Jennifer T. Wexton | Democratic | 24,104 | 47.96 | ||
| Write-ins | 101 | 0.20 | |||
| Republican incumbent reelected | |||||
| Virginia Senate, 33rd District | |||||
| January 21, 2014[52] | General Special | Jennifer T. Wexton | Democratic | 11,431 | 52.72 |
| John C. L. Whitbeck, Jr. | Republican | 8,133 | 37.51 | ||
| Joe T. May | Independent | 2,117 | 9.76 | ||
| Write-ins | 3 | 0.01 | |||
| Mark Herring resigned; seat remained Democratic | |||||
| November 3, 2015[53] | General | Jennifer T. Wexton | Democratic | 18,577 | 56.60 |
| Stephen B. Hollingshead | Republican | 14,190 | 43.23 | ||
| Write-ins | 54 | 0.16 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Wexton | 22,405 | 41.89 | |
| Democratic | Alison Friedman | 12,283 | 22.96 | |
| Democratic | Lindsey Davis Stover | 8,567 | 16.02 | |
| Democratic | Dan Helmer | 6,712 | 12.55 | |
| Democratic | Paul Pelletier | 2,010 | 3.76 | |
| Democratic | Julia Biggins | 1,513 | 2.83 | |
| Total votes | 53,490 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Wexton | 206,356 | 56.1 | ||
| Republican | Barbara Comstock (incumbent) | 160,841 | 43.7 | ||
| Write-in | 598 | 0.2 | |||
| Total votes | 367,795 | 100.0 | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Wexton | 268,734 | 56.5 | +0.4 | |
| Republican | Aliscia Andrews | 206,253 | 43.4 | −0.3 | |
| Write-in | 559 | 0.1 | -0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 475,546 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Wexton (incumbent) | 157,405 | 53.15% | −3.35% | |
| Republican | Hung Cao | 138,163 | 46.65% | +3.25% | |
| Write-in | 577 | 0.19% | +.09% | ||
| Total votes | 296,145 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
Wexton married Andrew Wexton in 2001.[1] They have two sons.[10]
In April 2023, Wexton announced that she had been diagnosed withParkinson's disease. In September of that year, she announced that her diagnosis had been changed toprogressive supranuclear palsy, which is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease at early stages.[37][58] The condition has affected Wexton's mobility, her hearing, and her ability to speak.[59] In May 2024, Wexton started using atext to speech app for delivering her speeches on the floor of the House.[60]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 10th congressional district 2019–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
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| People | |
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| Other | |
