Leon Mark Dudenhefer (born September 25, 1952) is an American politician. A Republican, he was elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses 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-numbe ...

in 2011. He represented the 2nd district, made up of parts of

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

and

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

counties in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

. Previously, he served 2005–2011 on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, representing the Garrisonville district. After deciding not to seek re-election to the House of Delegates in 2017, he decided to run for the Stafford County Board of Supervisors again, and was elected by a margin of 12 votes.

Education and family

Dudenhefer received a B.S. degree in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1974. That same year, he enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. He served in the Corps until 2004, rising to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He also received an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

degree from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Computer Information Systems from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...

. Dudenhefer married LaVera Kay Brooks; they had three children. One daughter, Emily, died in an automobile accident in 2004.

Electoral history

Political career

Dudenhefer served on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors 2005–2011; he was its chair for two years. When the 2nd House district was moved to his area by

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

, Dudenhefer was unopposed as the Republican nominee for the seat. He defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Esteban Garces in the general election, 5767-4507. In November 2013, Dudenhefer was unseated by Democratic candidate for Delegate,

Michael Futrell Michael Thomas Futrell (born January 27, 1982) is an American politician from Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Futrell served a term in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the second district. Political career Futrell ...

. In November 2015, Dudenhefer reclaimed the seat he lost in 2013, narrowly winning against Democrat Joshua King. In January 2017, Dudenhefer announced that he would not seek re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates. The next month, he announced he would run for his old seat on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors against Democratic incumbent Laura Sellers. Dudenhefer narrowly defeated Sellers, winning the election by 12 votes.

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudenhefer, L. Mark 1952 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates County supervisors in Virginia Louisiana State University alumni Tulane University alumni University of Phoenix alumni People from Stafford, Virginia 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly