Michael J. Webert (born September 24, 1979) 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 ...

. 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 the 61st district, made up of

Rappahannock County Rappahannock County is a county located in the northern Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, US, adjacent to Shenandoah National Park. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,348. Its county seat is Washington. The name "Rappah ...

and parts of Culpeper and Fauquier, in the north central part of the state.

Early life, education, and business career

A native of

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Webert graduated from the

Kent School Kent School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Kent, Connecticut. Founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It educates around 520 boys and girls in grades 9–12. Kent was one of the first schools ...

Kent, Connecticut Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located alongside the border with New York (state), New York, the town's population was 3,019 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwe ...

in 1998. After moving to

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 ...

, he received a B.A. in Communications from

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

in 2010. He Webert married Rebecca Funkhouser. They have two sons and live outside of Warrenton.

Political career

The 18th House district incumbent, Republican Clay Athey of

Front Royal Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was estimated at 15,400 as of 2023. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to beco ...

, did not run for re-election in 2011 following redistricting that radically altered the map of the district. The following year, the General Assembly appointed Athey a

circuit court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

judge. In 2011, Webert won the Republican primary with 56.4% of the vote, defeating Kevin P. Kelley of Warrenton with 2,016 votes to Kelley's 1,556. He then won the general election with 69.6% of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Bob L. Zwick of The Plains. He received 9,749 votes while Zwick received 4,264. In 2013, Webert won reelection with 63.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Colin S. Harris, a 22-year-old aerospace executive from Orlean, in the general election. He received 15,549 votes while Harris received 8,979 votes, or 36.5% of the vote. This was (and remains, as of 2019) the strongest Democratic performance in the strongly Republican 18th district since 2001, when Peter B. Schwartz of

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

won 37.3% of the vote in a three-way race against Athey and independent candidate Jerry M. Wood of Warrenton (who had previously served one term in the House of Delegates as a Democrat from 1992 to 1994). Webert ran unopposed in the 2015 election, winning 96.9% of the vote. In the 2017 election, Webert won his fourth term in the House of Delegates, defeating Democratic candidate Tristan D. Shields, a musician from Rixeyville, and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

candidate Wilton King, a retired Marine and federal air marshal from Bealeton. He received 16,686 votes while Shields received 9,486 and King received 1,433.

References

External links

* * * 1979 births George Mason University alumni Kent School alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Fauquier County, Virginia Politicians from Denver Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly {{Virginia-politician-stub