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Thelma Drake
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's2nd district
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Ed Schrock
Succeeded by	Glenn Nye
Member of theVirginia House of Delegates from the 87th district
In office January 10, 1996 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Howard Copeland
Succeeded by	Paula Miller
Personal details
Born	Thelma Day (1949-11-20)November 20, 1949 (age 75) Elyria,Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ted Drake
Children	2
Education	Old Dominion University

Thelma Day Drake (born November 20, 1949) is an American politician and formermember of Congress forVirginia's 2nd congressional district. ARepublican, she served in theU.S. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2009. Prior to serving in Congress, Thelma Drake served nine years in theVirginia House of Delegates.

After leaving Congress, Drake was appointed to be Director of theVirginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation by GovernorRobert McDonnell, and later became Assistant Director of Public Works Transportation Division for theCity of Norfolk. She also worked as a real estate agent in the Hampton Roads region. On February 15, 2018, Drake was nominated by PresidentDonald Trump as the Administrator of theFederal Transit Administration.^[1] On January 3, 2019, the nomination expired. On January 16, 2019, she was renominated to the same office. The nomination expired on January 3, 2020 and she was not renominated.^[2]

Thelma Drake was born Thelma Mary Day inElyria, Ohio to parents Harry Elwood Day and Ephram O'Brien Day. She attended bothElyria Catholic High School andElyria High School. She later attendedOld Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

In 1995 Drake became the second Republican to be elected to represent the City of Norfolk in theVirginia House of Delegates since theReconstruction era. She served in the House of Delegates for nine years representing the 87th District. Drake served as chair of the Virginia Housing Commission and as a member of theChesapeake Bay Commission.

Drake was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in 2004. She entered the race after incumbent Republican congressmanEd Schrock ended his re-election campaign. Drake defeated Democratic Party candidate, David Ashe, in the general election, becoming the third woman to represent Virginia in Congress afterLeslie Byrne andJo Ann Davis.

In 2006, Drake defeated Democratic Party candidate,Phillip Kellam, 51% to 49%.

In 2008, Drake was defeated by Democratic nomineeGlenn Nye.

She is married to Ted Drake and lives in the East Ocean View area ofNorfolk, Virginia.

• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1949 births
• 20th-century American women politicians
• 21st-century American women politicians
• Living people
• Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Female members of the United States House of Representatives
• Old Dominion University alumni
• People from Elyria, Ohio
• Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
• First Trump administration personnel
• United Church of Christ members
• United States Department of Transportation officials
• Women state legislators in Virginia
• 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly
• 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• BLP articles lacking sources from July 2023
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• Use mdy dates from April 2018
• People appearing on C-SPAN