Jennifer Carroll Foy

Jennifer Denise Carroll Foy (born September 25, 1981) is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a public defender by occupation. Carroll Foy was elected to represent Virginia's 2nd House of Delegates district in 2017, which covers parts of Prince William County and Stafford County in Northern Virginia. She resigned from the House of Delegates[1] to focus on her campaign in the election for Governor of Virginia in 2021.[2][3] If elected, she would be the first female Governor of Virginia and first African American female governor elected in the United States.[4]

Jennifer Carroll Foy
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 2nd district
In office
January 10, 2018 – December 12, 2020
Preceded byMark Dudenhefer
Succeeded byCandi King
Personal details
Born
Jennifer Denise Carroll

(1981-09-25) September 25, 1981
Petersburg, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Jeffrey Foy
Children2
EducationVirginia Military Institute (BA)
Virginia State University (MA)
Thomas Jefferson School of Law (JD)

Early life and education

Jennifer Carroll Foy was born and grew up in Petersburg, Virginia.[5] Raised by her grandmother,[6] she graduated from Petersburg High School, where she participated in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.[7] She received her bachelor's degree from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 2003.[5] Part of the third class of female cadets to ever attend the university, she received a full scholarship to attend.[8] Carroll Foy received her Master's degree from Virginia State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego.[9]

Career

After graduating from law school, Carroll Foy spent time teaching and worked in Los Angeles as a litigation associate. She moved back to Virginia and opened a private practice that focused on criminal defense.[10]

In February 2017, Carroll Foy entered the race for the Second District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.[10] In her 2017 campaign, Carroll Foy ran on expanding Medicaid, raising the minimum wage, increasing teacher pay, and criminal justice reform.[11] In November 2017, Carroll Foy beat Republican Mike Makee, and became delegate of Virginia's Second district.[12]

In the House of Delegates, Carroll Foy sat on the Courts of Justice, Finance, and Public Safety Committees.[13]

In 2020, Carroll Foy filed paperwork to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election.[14][6] On December 8, 2020, she announced plans to resign from the House of Delegates in order to focus full-time on her gubernatorial campaign.[1] Her resignation is effective December 12, 2020.[15]

Political positions

Healthcare

Carroll Foy voted to pass Medicaid expansion in the General Assembly in March 2018, expanding health insurance coverage for 400,000 Virginians.[16]

Women's rights

Carroll Foy proposed and passed the Equal Rights Amendment, making Virginia the 38th state to ratify the constitutional amendment.[17]

Criminal justice

A public defender, Carroll Foy has advocated for the reform of cash bail, criticizing what she called Virginia’s “justice-for-profit system”.[18]

Carroll Foy initially abstained from voting on a 2020 proposal to reduce prison sentences, bringing Virginia’s “earned sentence credit” program in line with other states.[19] She eventually voted in favor of a significantly more conservative version of the bills.[19][20]

Redistricting

Carroll Foy supports third-party, commission-drawn legislative maps but opposed the amendment to the state constitution as proposed in 2020, saying she felt it was wrong to inscribe a “substandard” proposal in the constitution.[18]

Labor

Carroll Foy has been an advocate for paid family and medical leave for all workers.[5]

Infrastructure

Carroll Foy supports efforts to expand broadband access, particularly to southwest Virginia.[7]

Personal life

She is married to Jeffery Foy, whom she met at VMI.[6] In July 2017, she gave birth to twin boys.[21]

Electoral history
Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 2nd district
June 13, 2017[22] Primary Jennifer Carroll Foy Democratic 2,182 50.14%
Josh King Democratic 2,170 49.86%
Nov 7, 2017[23] General Jennifer Carroll Foy Democratic 13,366 63.04%
Mike Makee Republican 7,803 36.80%
Nov 5, 2019[24] General Jennifer Carroll Foy Democratic 11,828 60.92%
Heather Mitchell Republican 7,563 38.95%

References
  1. "Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy stepping down to focus on race for Virginia governor". 8News. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  2. Times-Dispatch, JUSTIN MATTINGLY Richmond. "Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy files paperwork to run for governor". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  3. Press, SARAH RANKIN Associated. "Democrat Carroll Foy files to run for Virginia governor". Fredericksburg.com. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  4. Moomaw, Graham. "Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy files paperwork to run for governor". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  5. Leonor, Mel (May 27, 2020). "Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy begins run for governor, says she is the 'right leader' for Virginia". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  6. Vozzella, Laura (2020-05-27). "Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy announces bid in Virginia governor's race". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  7. Nicholson, Brooke (2020-07-01). "Jennifer Carroll Foy Wants to be Virginia's First Female Governor". RVA Mag. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  8. Lowkell. Video: Rising Star Jennifer Carroll Foy’s Amazing Story Shows Women Can Do Anything Blue Virginia. 17 Sept 2017
  9. Jennifer Foy at ballotpedia.org
  10. LANCE–STAR, AMANDA VICINANZO THE FREE. "Democrat Jennifer Carroll Foy enters race for Second District seat". Fredericksburg.com. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  11. "Internet Archive Jennifer Carroll Foy Campaign Website". Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17.
  12. [email protected], Alex Koma. "Foy wins open seat to represent 2nd District; part of sweeping Democratic victories". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  13. "LIS > Bill Tracking > Member > 2020 Session > Jennifer Carroll Foy". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  14. Moomaw, Graham. "Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy files paperwork to run for governor". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  15. "Virginia Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy Steps Down to Focus on Governor Campaign". NBC4 Washington. December 8, 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  16. Moomaw, Graham (March 30, 2018). "For Va. House Democratic freshmen, Medicaid expansion vote is payoff to 2017 campaigns". Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  17. Chappell, Bill (January 15, 2020). "Virginia Ratifies The Equal Rights Amendment, Decades After The Deadline". National Public Radio. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  18. Hitchcock, Ben (2020-08-19). "Aiming high: Jennifer Carroll Foy wants to fight for the little guy". C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  19. Oliver, Ned; October 26, Virginia Mercury; 2020 (2020-10-26). "Thousands of Virginia prisoners could be released early under new earned sentence credit program". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved 2020-11-09.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. "LIS > Bill Tracking > > 2020 session: HB 5148 Earned sentence credits". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  21. Linda Feldmann. In Trump era, a sudden flood of women candidates. Christian Science Monitor. 10 Nov 2017.
  22. "House of Delegates District 2". www.vpap.org. Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  23. "Elections: House of Delegates District 2". www.vpap.org. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  24. "Elections: House of Delegates District 2". www.vpap.org. Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
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