Virginia Senators

Virginia’s secession from the Union in 1861 caused the seated Virginia Senators essentially to lose their seats when they were declared vacant, until 1870. Republican John F. Lewis and Democrat John W. Johnston were the Virginia Senators seated in 1870. In 2007, Democrat Jim Webb won his seat for the state of Virginia. In 2009, Democrat Mark Warner was elected to the U.S. Senate.

1. Jim Webb. Jim Webb, the senior Senator from Virginia, was born into a military family on February 9, 1946 and from 1968 to 1972 he served as a highly decorated Marine Corp officer in the Vietnam War. Webb served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and later, as the Secretary of the Navy from 1987 to 1988 during the Reagan administration. In 2006, Jim Webb was elected by a narrow margin, defeating incumbent George Allen by less that a percentage point, to become the U.S. Senator from Virginia. Webb is facing re-election in 2012 and former Virginia Senator George Allen promises to run against Webb to get his Senate back.
2. Mark Warner. Mark Warner is the junior Senator from Virginia who reaped the benefits of an anti-Republican mood at the time and was elected by voters with 65 percent of the vote in 2008. Campaigning as a moderate Democrat, Warner was elected the 69^th Governor of Virginia with 52.2 percent of the vote in 2002 and served until 2006. Mark Warner serves on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee of Budget, the Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Joint Economic Committee.