Wendell Walker
Wendell Walker | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Scott Garrett |
| Constituency | 23rd district (2020–2024) 52nd district (2024–present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wendell Scott Walker November 21, 1952 Macon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Patsy Walker |
| Residence | Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Alma mater | Liberty University |
| Committees | Health, Welfare and Institutions Finance General Laws |
| Website | https://www.wendellwalker.org/ |
Wendell Scott Walker is an American politician. Since 2020, he has been a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 52nd district, consisting of the city of Lynchburg and part of Campbell County.
Biography
[edit]Walker is a prominent leader in the local Republican party, and has held positions in local and state committees, including the chair of the Lynchburg Republican Committee.[1]
Electoral history
[edit]| Date | Election | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia House of Delegates, 23rd District | |||||
| Jun 11, 2019[2] | Republican primary | Wendell S. Walker | 2,486 | 41.7 | |
| E.J. Turner Perrow, Jr. | 2,339 | 39.3 | |||
| Ronald R. Berman | 1,133 | 19 | |||
| Nov 5, 2019[3] | General | Wendell S. Walker | Republican | 13,529 | 63.80 |
| David A. Zilles | Democratic | 7,609 | 35.90 | ||
| Write Ins | 53 | 0.30 | |||
| Scott Garrett retired; seat stayed Republican | |||||
| Nov 2, 2021[4] | General | Wendell S. Walker | Republican | 22,045 | 66.57 |
| Natalie A. Short | Democratic | 11,007 | 33.24 | ||
| Write Ins | 64 | 0.19 | |||
| Nov 7, 2023[5] | General | Wendell S. Walker | Republican | 10,574 | 54.46 |
| Jennifer K. Woofter | Democratic | 8,825 | 45.45 | ||
| Write Ins | 18 | 0.09 | |||
Tenure
[edit]Equal Rights Amendment
[edit]During the 2020 regular session, Walker voted yes for the Equal Rights Amendment,[6] which Conservative Activists opposed as it is argued to allow tax-payer funded Abortion Health Care.[7] Walker later claimed he intended to vote nay.[6]
Memorial of Harry F. Byrd
[edit]In early February 2020, Walker proposed a bill to remove a Statue of Harry F. Byrd, a prominent Democrat who is often infamously remembered for his racist opposition to desegregation, in response to efforts from state Democrats to remove more Confederate statues in the state. Such measures were undertaken across the country in the aftermath of the Charleston church shooting in 2015 and they were eventually galvanized in the aftermath of the Unite The Right Rally in 2017. After the Democrats agreed to support his measure to remove the statue which serves as a tribute to Byrd, Walker requested that the state legislature should not consider his own bill. He said that "the reason I put that in was more of a political reason." Walker continued by saying "I think history is very important, whether it’s good, bad or ugly. I was not willing to allow the governor to have the opportunity to remove statues." Even though the Virginia House Rules Committee voted to let the bill go for the day, as opposed to removing it from consideration like Walker had requested, Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) said that she wanted to hear Walker's own reasoning on why he wanted to kill a bill that he himself had introduced for consideration in the state legislature. Two other bills were struck as supplications of their sponsors following the introduction of Walker's bill.[8][9][10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ Chumney, Richard (June 11, 2019). "Lynchburg GOP chair Wendell Walker wins Republican nomination for 23rd House seat". The News & Advance. Lynchburg.
- ^ "June 2019 Republican Primary Official Results". Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- ^ "2019 Election Results - HOD". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ^ "2021 November General Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ^ "2023 November General and Special Elections". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
- ^ a b "LIS > Bill Tracking > > 2020 session". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ "How the debate over the ERA became a fight over abortion". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ Coleman, Justine (February 3, 2020). "Virginia GOP delegate tries to kill own bill to remove Democratic segregationist statue". The Hill.
- ^ Friedenberger, Amy (February 7, 2020). "General Assembly notebook: Del. Wendell Walker's bill to take down Sen. Harry Byrd statue is dead". The Roanoke Times.
- ^ Vozzella, Laura (February 3, 2020). "How a Republican's proposal to remove a statue in Richmond may have backfired". The Washington Post.
- ^ Evans, Whittney (January 9, 2020). "Republican Calls To Take Down Statue of Former Gov. Harry Byrd". VPM News.
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