Thomas C. "Tommy" Wright, Jr. (born April 27, 1948) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

. Since 2001 he has served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

, representing the 61st district in the

Southside Virginia Southside, or Southside Virginia, has traditionally referred to the portion of the state south of the James River, the geographic feature from which the term derives its name. This was the first area to be developed in the colonial period. Duri ...

counties of Amelia, Cumberland,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

and Nottoway, plus part of Lunenburg County. He is a member of the Republican Party. Wright has served on the House committees on Agriculture (2001), Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (2002–), Claims (2001), Conservation and Natural Resources (2001), Counties, Cities and Towns (2001), General Laws (2002–), Militia and Police (2001), and Militia, Police and Public Safety (2002–).

Early life, education

Wright was born in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Victoria High School in 1966, and received a B.A. degree in political science from

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

in 1970.

Electoral history

Wright was elected to the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors in 1993 and 1997. He served as chairman 1995–1997. State Senator Richard J. Holland died on April 16, 2000. He was succeeded in office by 61st district Delegate Frank Ruff, who won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on November 7, 2000. Wright received the Republican nomination to replace Ruff, and won the seat in another special election on December 19. Wright voted against a bill to eliminate a law banning sexual intercourse before marriage in the 2020 legislative session. The bill passed 91-5 with bipartisan support in the house.

Notes

External links

* (campaign finance) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Thomas C., Jr. 1948 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Old Dominion University alumni People from Victoria, Virginia Politicians from Richmond, Virginia County supervisors in Virginia 21st-century American politicians