Virginia's 50th House of Delegates district elects one of the 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates, the lower house of the state's bicameral legislature. The district is made up of most of Manassas City and some of Prince William County.[1] The representative of the 50th district is Democrat Michelle Maldonado.
Republican Harry J. Parrish, who had previously served as a Manassas council member, was elected to represent District 50 in 1981, which he did continuously for the following 25 years. His health declined in later years but he nevertheless defeated a 2005 primary challenge, and served until his death on March 28, 2006.[2]
In 2006, Republican Jackson Miller was elected to represent the district in a special election to fill the seat following Parrish's death.[3] Miller was reelected four times, generally with about 60% of the vote (with the exception of 2011, when he was unopposed).[4]
In the 2017 Virginia's House of Delegates election, Carter defeated Jackson Miller, the incumbent and Republican majority whip of the House of Delegates,[5] 11,360 to 9,510. 9510 was the largest number of votes Miller had ever received in the district; previously Miller's highest total (always sufficient to retain his seat) was 9,500.
Carter, a first-time candidate, decided to run after difficulties dealing with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission following an injury on the job.[6] His campaign initially coordinated with the Democratic Party, but ceased reporting internal numbers to the Party following what Carter described as security lapses, and the Party withdrew financial support. During the campaign, Miller sent out mailers comparing Carter to Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.
In 2019, incumbent Carter fended off a challenge in the Democratic primary by Manassas City Councilman Mark Wolfe.[7] [8] (Wolfe became a Democrat in 2016, having first been elected to the Manassas City Council as a Republican in 2008 and again in 2012).[9] Carter faced Manassas City Councilman Ian Lovejoy, a Republican, in the general election, and won reelection with 53% of the vote.[10]
| Years | Delegate | Party | Electoral history | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1982 - March 28, 2006 | Republican | Died in office | ||||
| January 2007 - January 2018 | Jackson Miller | Republican | Elected in 2006 special to fill vacated seat after Parrish's death; defeated in bid for reelection | |||
| nowrap | January 2018 - January 2022 | Lee Carter | Democratic | Lost Democratic Primary to Michelle Maldonado in 2021 | ||
| nowrap | January 2022 - present | Michelle Maldonado | Democratic | First elected in 2021 |