Jennifer McClellan

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Jennifer McClellan
Image of Jennifer McClellan

Candidate, U.S. House Virginia District 4

U.S. House Virginia District 4
Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

1

Predecessor
Prior offices
Virginia House of Delegates District 71

Virginia State Senate District 9
Successor: Lamont Bagby

Compensation

Base salary

$174,000

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

University of Richmond, 1994

Law

University of Virginia School of Law, 1997

Personal
Birthplace
Petersburg, Va.
Religion
Christian: Presbyterian
Profession
Attorney
Contact

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) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 4th Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

McClellan is also running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 4th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]

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:

2014 legislative session

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

2012-2013

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

2010-2011

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

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
Yes check.svg Yea Yes check.svg Passed (310-118)
Red x.svg Nay Yes check.svg Passed (217-215)
Red x.svg Nay Yes check.svg Passed (225-204)
Yes check.svg Yea Yes check.svg Passed (314-117)
Yes check.svg Yea Yes check.svg Passed (216-210)
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) (220-209)
Red x.svg Nay Yes check.svg Passed (221-212)
Yes check.svg Yea Yes check.svg Passed (311-114)


Elections

2026

See also: Virginia's 4th Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated. Before the candidate filing deadline passes, Ballotpedia will separate these candidates into their respective primaries as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 4

Incumbent Jennifer McClellan is running in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 4 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer McClellan (D)

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Endorsements

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2024

See also: Virginia's 4th Congressional District election, 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

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 4

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

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer McClellan (D)
 
67.1
 
237,578
Image of Bill Moher
Bill Moher (R)
 
32.9
 
116,506

Total votes: 354,084
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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 did not identify endorsements for McClellan in this election.

2023

See also: Virginia's 4th Congressional District special election, 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
Image of Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer McClellan (D)
 
74.4
 
82,040
Image of Leon Benjamin Sr.
Leon Benjamin Sr. (R)
 
25.5
 
28,083
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
129

Total votes: 110,252
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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
Image of Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer McClellan (D)
 
84.8
 
23,661
Image of Joseph Morrissey
Joseph Morrissey (D)
 
13.6
 
3,782
Image of Tavorise Marks
Tavorise Marks (D)
 
0.8
 
217
Image of Joseph Preston
Joseph Preston (D)
 
0.6
 
174
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
66

Total votes: 27,900
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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
Image of Leon Benjamin Sr.
Leon Benjamin Sr. (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Derrick Hollie (R)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2021

See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 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
Image of Glenn Youngkin
Glenn Youngkin (R) Candidate Connection
 
50.6
 
1,663,596
Image of Terry McAuliffe
Terry McAuliffe (D)
 
48.6
 
1,600,116
Image of Princess Blanding
Princess Blanding (Liberation Party) Candidate Connection
 
0.7
 
23,125
Image of Paul Davis
Paul Davis (Independent) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
0
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
2,593

Total votes: 3,289,430
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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

Total votes: 494,932
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican convention

Republican Convention for Governor of Virginia

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.


Total votes: 12,555
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

2019

See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 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
Image of Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer McClellan (D)
 
80.1
 
49,451
Image of Mark Lewis
Mark Lewis (L) Candidate Connection
 
19.0
 
11,707
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.0
 
613

Total votes: 61,771
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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 Green check mark transparent.pngJennifer 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 Green check mark transparent.pngJennifer 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 Green check mark transparent.pngJenn 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
Green check mark transparent.png Jean McClellan (D) 11,628
Silver Persinger (I) 2,406

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

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Candidate Connection

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2024

Jennifer McClellan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

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]

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..."

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."

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."

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."

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 scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Jennifer McClellan
EndorseeElectionStageOutcome
Kamala D. Harris  source  (D, Working Families Party) President of the United States (2024) PrimaryLost General
Joe Biden  source President of the United States (2024) PrimaryWithdrew in Convention
Missy Cotter Smasal  source  (D) U.S. House Virginia District 2 (2024) PrimaryLost General
Dominique Renee Chatters  source  (Nonpartisan) Chesterfield County Public Schools, Dale District (2023) GeneralWon General
Traci Noelle Franssen  source  (Nonpartisan) Chesterfield County Public Schools, Matoaca District (2023) GeneralLost General
Madison Irving  source  (Nonpartisan) Henrico County Public Schools, Three Chopt District (2023) GeneralWon General
Alicia Atkins  source  (Nonpartisan) Henrico County Public Schools, Varina District (2023) GeneralWon General
Dustin R. Keith  source  (Independent) Russell County Public Schools, At-large (2023) General
Notable ballot measure endorsements by Jennifer McClellan
MeasurePositionOutcome
Virginia Question 1, Redistricting Commission Amendment (2020)  source SupportApproved

Campaign finance summary


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
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* U.S. House Virginia District 4Won general$2,654,534 $2,509,387
2023* U.S. House Virginia District 4Won general$1,723,601 $1,553,384
2021Governor of VirginiaLost primary$2,939,105 $2,028,867
2019Virginia State Senate District 9Won general$372,629 N/A**
Grand total$7,689,869 $6,091,638
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal 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 available data.

2016 Democratic National Convention

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


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 [email protected].


2023

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

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the manufacturing sector.


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012

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]

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Senate of Virginia, "Jennifer L. McClellan," accessed January 2, 2023
  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
  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
  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 [email protected].
  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 [email protected].
  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
  30. The New York Times, "Virginia Primary Results," March 2, 2016
  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
  34. 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
-


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Bob Good (R)
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
Democratic Party (8)
Republican Party (5)