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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: CHARNIELE HERRING
MAJORITY LEADER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, ALEXANDRIA
Virginia Business //September 1, 2025//
Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: CHARNIELE HERRING
MAJORITY LEADER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, ALEXANDRIA
Virginia Business //September 1, 2025//
When Democrats took control of the House of Delegates in 2020, Herring became the first woman and first African American to serve as majority leader. After Republicans retook the chamber following the 2021 elections, she became caucus chair but returned to her majority leader role when her party narrowly reassumed power in 2024.
Early experience with homelessness helped shape Herring’s outlook, and she attended George Mason University through the school’s Student Transition Empowerment Program, which assists disadvantaged students in transitioning to a college environment. Herring later became a lawyer and was first elected to the General Assembly in 2009. She served as chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia from 2012 to 2014.
In recent years, Herring has carried several of Democrats’ signature pieces of legislation, including bills to legalize marijuana possession and join Virginia to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate carbon market. In 2025, she sponsored an amendment that would enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution, which the House and state Senate passed.
