Ronnie Ray Campbell (February 16, 1954 – December 13, 2022) was an American politician who served as a member of the

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 ...

House of Delegates, first elected in a special election in 2018. Campbell represented the 24th district comprising Rockbridge and

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Counties, parts of Amherst and Augusta Counties, and the independent cities of Lexington and Buena Vista.

Early life and career

Campbell was born, on February 16, 1954, in

Waynesboro, Virginia Waynesboro (; formerly Flack) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro micropolitan area, Staunton-Waynesboro Metropoli ...

. He received a bachelor's degree from

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

in 1976, majoring in criminal science. After that, he became a

Virginia State Police The Virginia State Police, officially the Virginia Department of State Police, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, is the state police force for the U.S. state of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Ve ...

officer, working 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. ...

Political career

Campbell spent ten years on the Rockbridge County School Board. In 2012, he was elected to the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors. In November 2018, 24th district state delegate Ben Cline was elected to the United States House of Representatives, triggering a special election for his state house seat. The local Republican party held a firehouse primary to choose their nominee. Campbell won the primary by a one-vote margin, defeating Amherst County Supervisor Jimmy Ayers and two other candidates. In the December 2018 special election, Campbell defeated lawyer and activist Christian Worth by a 59% to 40% margin. Campbell was sworn into office on January 2, 2019, a week before the 2019 legislative session started.

2020–21 United States election protests

Campbell was one of three GOP delegates in Virginia that sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, Pence asking him to delay the certification of the 2020 United States presidential election in Virginia, state's election results, which gave President-elect Joe Biden the win and Virginia's 13 electoral votes, until an audit of the election could be completed. The letter included two co-signers, Dave LaRock, Del. Dave LaRock (R-Loudoun) and Mark Cole (politician), Del. Mark Cole (R-Spotsylvania), requesting “a stay of any designation of Presidential Electors from our state until such time as a comprehensive forensic audit of the November 3, 2020, election has taken place to determine the actual winner.” On January 13, a Virginia Circuit Court issued a consent order agreeing with one of the major points of the letter, that the conduct of the 2020 election was contrary to Virginia law.

Personal life and death

Campbell died of cancer on December 13, 2022, at the age of 68. Campbell was succeeded in the House of Delegates by his wife Ellen Campbell, Ellen, who won a January 2023 special election. They had five children.

References

External links

Ronnie Campbell
at the Virginia Public Access Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Ronnie 1954 births 2022 deaths American state police officers County supervisors in Virginia East Tennessee State University alumni People from Rockbridge County, Virginia People from Waynesboro, Virginia Place of death missing Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates School board members in Virginia 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly