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MAJORITY LEADER, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, FAIRFAX COUNTY
MAJORITY LEADER, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, FAIRFAX COUNTY
Virginia Business// August 29, 2024//
In 2023, long-time Democratic Sen. Dick Saslaw’s announcement that he would retire from office after a half-century in the General Assembly left a power vacuum within his caucus. After Democrats narrowly hung onto control of the Senate in November, Surovell edged out Hampton Sen. Mamie Locke for the majority leader post in a contest that aired both racial and regional tensions within the party.
A trial lawyer, Surovell first won election to the House of Delegates in 2009 before winning his Senate seat in 2015, representing parts of Fairfax County, and before redistricting, parts of Prince William and Stafford counties. Since then, he has risen through the party ranks, becoming vice chair of his caucus in 2019.
Surovell is especially active in the areas of criminal justice reform and environmental issues and was a chief sponsor of 2021 legislation that abolished the death penalty in Virginia. He currently chairs the Senate Courts of Justice Committee and serves on the Commerce and Labor, Finance and Appropriations, Rehabilitation and Social Services, and Rules committees.
