From the Jennifer Carroll Foy for Governor campaign:
Jennifer Carroll Foy is all in to run for Governor and build a movement to tackle the problems that impact working families. That’s why she’s resigning from the House of Delegates. Jennifer Carroll Foy has always made the choice to side with working families. When others chose to cozy up to special interests as corporate lawyers or career politicians, Jennifer chose to take on big fights for the people. She chose to fight for Virginians as a public defender and a magistrate judge. She chose to become a foster mom, and even run for the House of Delegates while pregnant with twins because she knew change couldn’t wait. She is choosing to step down from the House of Delegates to focus on building a people-powered movement that will take Virginians out of the broken status quo that’s left them behind for far too long.
Following the precedent set by successful gubernatorial campaigns across the country, resigning allows her to focus on strengthening her powerful, people-powered campaign to make the Commonwealth work for all Virginians.
- Neil Abercrombie resigned from Congress in 2009 to focus on his winning campaign for Governor of Hawaii.
- Jay Inslee resigned from Congress in 2012 to focus on his winning campaign for Governor of Washington State.
- Mike Dunleavy resigned from the Alaska State Senate in 2018 to focus on his winning campaign for Governor of Alaska.
- Ron DeSantis resigned from Congress in 2018 to focus on his winning campaign for Governor of Florida.
- Stacey Abrams resigned in 2017 to run for Governor, sparking a grassroots movement to strengthen and protect voting rights that spread nationwide. Her campaign is largely credited with being responsible for President-Elect Biden’s historic victory in Georgia.
Jennifer Carroll Foy is the only person in this race who can lead the Commonwealth out of the broken status quo. She understands Virginians’ problems because she’s lived them. These are challenging times and the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed what’s just beneath the surface: in the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world, in one of the wealthiest states in the country, working families don’t have what they need to thrive. They haven’t for years. They want a leader who sees them, who understands their problems, and will stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the fight for progress. That leader is Jennifer Carroll Foy.
Jennifer Carroll Foy has the right experience to lead Virginia into the future. She has dedicated her life to fighting for those left behind by a broken system. As a public defender, magistrate judge, foster mom, one of the first women to graduate from Virginia Military Institute, and a delegate, Jennifer has always stepped up to serve others.
In court, her clients included Virginians below the poverty line, people suffering from substance abuse and mental illness, homeless Virginians, and kids who risked being branded felons for life after making simple mistakes. Jennifer established a public defenders’ office in Prince William County, the second most populated county in Virginia, because she saw a need that wasn’t being met.
As a foster mom, she cared for kids who survived trauma, abuse, and neglect.
As a delegate, Jennifer built coalitions and passed more substantive legislation during her time in office than most people have passed during an entire career. While serving in the House of Delegates, she:
- Worked across the aisle to expand rural broadband access in Southwest Virginia and clean up toxic coal ash that was contaminating the water.
- Led the charge to reverse decades of anti-working family, anti-teacher legislation and passed the biggest expansion of labor rights in decades.
- Worked with Republicans to expand opportunities for veteran-owned businesses and to help foster children.
- Led the charge to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Virginia to get us one step closer to enshrining women’s equality in the U.S. Constitution.
- Worked closely with Republicans to pass career and technical education bills and received accolades from the Virginia Association for Career and Technical Education and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce for her efforts to strengthen workforce development.
- Passed the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, which allows Virginians to stay healthy and in the workforce while carrying a pregnancy.
- Passed the Dress Code Equity Act, making Virginia the first state to institute regulations on school dress codes to ensure Black and Brown girls are not victims of discrimination.
- Passed the Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Act, a revolutionary bill to change how we hire teachers of color in the Commonwealth.
The reality of our broken political system is that a campaign to help Virginia escape the status quo requires funding. Stepping down allows Jennifer Carroll Foy to strengthen her movement. Let’s be honest: the way our political system is set up enables people like Terry McAullife – rich political insiders with strong ties to the special interests – to run for higher office. Jennifer didn’t choose fancy, high paying jobs that raked in millions to pad her own pockets – she chose to fight for working people as a public defender, magistrate judge, and a foster mom. In fact, as a public defender, she represented people below the poverty line, those suffering from substance-abuse issues, and children. In order to have the best chance to implement the fresh solutions that will move the Commonwealth forward and take on entrenched career politicians like Terry McAullife, she needs to raise money from grassroots donors, and Virginia does not allow active elected officials to fundraise during legislative session. Building a movement that will strengthen Virginia with working families top of mind requires Jennifer to fundraise and take the time to travel the Commonwealth to share her vision.
Jennifer Carroll Foy’s seat in the House of Delegates will be filled through a special election. Governor Northam will set the date of this election. Jennifer will lend her support to the candidate who will prioritize working families in the 2nd district as she has.
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