Dimitrios Nick Rerras (born February 19, 1957) is an

American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...

from the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. A Republican, he served in the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...

from 2000 to 2008 representing the 6th District. At various times during his term of office, it included parts of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

, the

Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia is the easternmost region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It consists of two counties (Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack and Northampton County, Virginia, Northam ...

, and Mathews County.

Early life and family

Rerras was born on February 19, 1957, in Norfolk, the son of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

immigrants. He graduated from Granby High School in Norfolk. His wife is Gayle and they have four children and reside in Norfolk. He has an associate degree in Electronics Technology from

Tidewater Community College Tidewater Community College (TCC) is a public community college in South Hampton Roads, Virginia, with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. It is part of the Virginia Community College System and is accredite ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree from

Philadelphia Biblical University Cairn University is a private Christian university in Langhorne Manor and Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1913, the university has six schools and departments: Business, Counseling, Divinity, Education, Liberal Arts ...

Military service

Nick served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in the 9th Infantry Division and was twice selected as the Soldier of the Quarter.

Political career

In 1995, Rerras challenged longtime Senator Stanley C. Walker, the President pro tempore of the Senate, in the 6th District, based in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Walker won reelection 55%-45%. However, Republicans gained a 20–20 tie in the Senate statewide, and Walker's position was weakened by a power-sharing agreement. Rerras ran again in 1999, this time upsetting Walker 59%-41%. In 2001, Rerras' district was expanded to include the Eastern Shore counties of

Accomack Accomac may refer to: Geography *Accomac, Virginia, a town in Virginia ** Accomac Shire, a former county in Virginia of which the town was the county seat * Accomac, Pennsylvania Peoples * Accomac people, a historic Native American tribe from ...

and

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

and Mathews County on the

Middle Peninsula The Middle Peninsula is the second of three large peninsulas on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. To the north the Rappahannock River separates it from the Northern Neck peninsula. To the south the York River separates it from th ...

. In 2003, Rerras was challenged by Norfolk trial lawyer Andrew A. Protogyrou. Rerras won reelection handily, 62%-38%. In 2007,

Ralph Northam Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...

, an Eastern Shore native who worked as a pediatric neurologist in Norfolk, unseated Rerras, 54%-46%.

References

External links

Virginia Public Access Project: D. Nick Rerras
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rerras, Nick 1957 births Living people Republican Party Virginia state senators Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia American people of Greek descent United States Army soldiers 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly