Charniele Herring
Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates
Assumed office
January 10, 2024
Preceded byTerry Kilgore
In office
January 8, 2020 – January 12, 2022
Preceded byTodd Gilbert
Succeeded byTerry Kilgore
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Assumed office
January 26, 2009
Preceded byBrian Moran
Constituency46th district (2009–2024)
4th district (2024–present)
Chair of the Virginia Democratic Party
In office
December 8, 2012 – March 15, 2014
Preceded byBrian Moran
Succeeded byDwight Jones
Personal details
Born
Charniele LeRhonda Herring

(1969-09-25) September 25, 1969
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Political partyDemocratic
EducationGeorge Mason University (BA)
Catholic University (JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Charniele LeRhonda Herring[1] (/ʃɑːrˈnɛl ˈhɛrɪŋ/ shar-NEL HERR-ing;[2] born September 25, 1969) is an American politician. She has served in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2009, representing the 46th district, made up of portions of the city of Alexandria and Fairfax County, near Washington, D.C.

Herring is a member of the Democratic Party. She has been the House Democratic Caucus Chair since 2015 and in December 2012, she was the first African-American to be elected chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia.[3][4] In 2020, she was elected to be the Majority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, making her the first woman and the first African-American to hold the position. After April 27, 2022, she was de facto minority leader following the ouster of Eileen Filler-Corn.[5] The Democratic caucus did not immediately choose a replacement for Filler-Corn, but simultaneously voted to retain Herring as their caucus chair.[5][6] On June 1, 2022, Delegate Don Scott, who had called for the ouster of both Herring and Filler-Corn,[6] was selected as minority leader.[7]

Personal life, non-political career

Herring was born in the Dominican Republic. A self-described "Army brat", she traveled frequently as a child.[8] When she was 16 years old, her mother lost her job, and the two lived in a homeless shelter for six months.[9]

Herring studied for three years with the Virginia Ballet School and Company. She earned a B.A. in economics from George Mason University in 1993 and a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 1997.[3][8][10]

Herring was a VISTA volunteer.[8][10]

Political career

At age 13, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, Herring testified before a government commission about health care coverage for military dependent children.[10]

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed Herring to the state's Council on the Status of Women. In 2006, she attended the Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia's Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.[8][10]

Virginia House of Delegates

Delegate Brian Moran resigned his House seat on December 12, 2008 to spend full-time on his 2009 campaign for governor. Herring immediately announced her candidacy for the vacancy. In a caucus on December 16, Herring won the Democratic nomination, defeating Ariel Gonzalez, director of governmental affairs for the American College of Radiology, 191–43.[11]

In the special election on January 13, 2009, she defeated Republican nominee Joe Murray, an aide to Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC), by 16 votes.[12] Murray requested a recount, which was resolved in Herring's favor; she was sworn in on January 26.[13]

Herring was the first African-American woman ever elected to represent Northern Virginia in the General Assembly.[10] She was elected to serve as the Chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Virginia in 2012 and remained in the role until 2014. In 2015, she was elected Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. After the Democratic Party gained control of the House of Delegates in 2019, Herring was elected to serve as the Majority Leader. She is the first woman and African-American and served in this role until the Republicans regained control of the House of Delegates in 2021.

She currently serves as the chair of the Courts of Justice Committee, and she is the first woman and African-American to hold this role as well. She also serves as a member of the Rules committee and Joint Rules Subcommittee.[14]

Herring has a lengthy career advocating for criminal justice reforms in Virginia, and after serving on the Crime Commission for 9 years, she was elected as the Chair of the committee in 2020.

Electoral history

DateElectionCandidatePartyVotes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 46th district
Jan 13, 2009[12] Special Charniele L. Herring Democratic 1,344 50.15
Joe R. Murray Republican 1,328 49.57
Write Ins 7 0.26
Brian Moran resigned; seat stayed Democratic
Nov 3, 2009[15] General Charniele L. Herring Democratic 8,778 63.98
Sasha Gong Republican 4,929 35.93
Write Ins 11 0.08
Nov 8, 2011[16] General Charniele L. Herring Democratic 7,664 95.19
Write Ins 378 4.80
Nov 5, 2013[17] General Charniele L. Herring Democratic 15,066 95.7
Write Ins 684 4.3
Nov 3, 2015[18] General Charniele L. Herring Democratic 7,507 67.0
Sean T. Lenehan Republican 3,170 28.3
Andrew G. Bakker Libertarian 505 4.5
Write Ins 29 0.3
Nov 7, 2017[19] General Charniele L. Herring Democratic 18,947 96.4
Write Ins 706 3.6
Nov 5, 2019 General Charniele L. Herring Democratic 12,270 92
Write Ins 1,063 7.9
Nov 2, 2021 General Charniele L. Herring Democratic 20,445 92.2
Write Ins 1,740 7.8

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Charniele Lerhonda Herring Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved Dec 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ Charniele Herring from Alexandria, Virginia. youtube. Retrieved 2012-03-12. Campaign style video promoting green energy.
  3. 1 2 "Bio for Charniele L. Herring". Virginia House of Delegates. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  4. ↑ Haines, Errin (2012-12-08). "Virginia Democrats elect the state's first African American party chair". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  5. 1 2 Schmidt, Markus (2022-04-27). "Democrats oust Filler-Corn as House Minority Leader". Cardinal News. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  6. 1 2 Mirshahi, Dean (27 April 2022). "Virginia House Democrats remove Filler-Corn as leader". ABC 8 News. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  7. ↑ Moomaw, Graham (1 June 2022). "Va. House Democrats pick Scott as new minority leader". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Political Leaders 2006 Profile: Charniele Herring". Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. 2006-08-14. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  9. ↑ Lans, Michael (2009-01-11). "Candidates Hustle for Attention in Sprint to Replace Moran". Washington Post. p. C05. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Meet Charniele". Charniele Herring. Retrieved 2013-06-04. (campaign website)
  11. ↑ Craig, Tim (2008-12-16). "Herring Defeats Gonzalez; Murray Wins GOP Nod". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  12. 1 2 "January 13, 2009 Special Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  13. ↑ Meola, Olympia (January 26, 2009). "Va. House swears in delegate after recount". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Virginia House of Delegates Member Listings". virginiageneralassembly.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  15. ↑ "November 2009 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  16. ↑ "November 2011 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  17. ↑ "Virginia Elections Database » 2013 House of Delegates General Election District 46". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  18. ↑ "Virginia Elections Database » 2015 House of Delegates General Election District 46". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  19. ↑ "Virginia Elections Database » 2017 House of Delegates General Election District 46". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
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