Alexandria's Herring re-elected as Virginia House majority leader
Democrat continues in historic leadership role after unopposed district win
Delegate Charniele Herring was re-elected Sunday as Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates, continuing in the position she has held since 2020.
Herring won re-election to her District 4 seat last week unopposed, receiving 17,799 votes, or 95.78% of ballots cast. She captured 11,911 votes in Alexandria City precincts and 5,888 votes in Fairfax County precincts.
House Democrats re-elected their leadership team following the Nov. 4 election, which expanded the Democratic majority to 64 of 100 seats. Portsmouth’s Don Scott was re-elected as Speaker of the House, and Northern Virginia’s Kathy Tran was re-elected as Chair.
Herring has represented District 4, which represents portions of the City of Alexandria and a portion of Fairfax County, since 2009. She was the first woman and first African American elected as Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates.
A resident of Alexandria’s West End for most of her 30-plus years in Northern Virginia, Herring earned degrees from George Mason University and Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law. She runs a mediation practice, Herring Resolutions.
During her legislative tenure, Herring has sponsored bills including the Virginia Clean Slate Act, legislation legalizing marijuana, and the Reproductive Health Protection Act. She was chief co-patron of legislation ending the death penalty in Virginia in 2021.