Stephen Dwayne Newman (born October 15, 1964) 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 ...

of the Republican Party. He served in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

from 1991 to 2024, first in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

(1991-1996) and then 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 ...

(1996–2024). In 2016, Newman became

president pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia The President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia is a Virginia constitutional office whose role is to serve as the presiding officer of the Senate of Virginia in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor. The office is established in Article IV, Se ...

. However, in the

2019 Virginia Senate election The 2019 Virginia Senate election was held on November 5, 2019, concurrently with the 2019 Virginia House of Delegates election, House election, to elect members to all 40 seats in the Senate of Virginia for the 161st Virginia General Assembly ...

, although Newman won re-election from his district, Democrats won the majority. On January 8, 2020,

Louise Lucas Lillie Louise Lucas ( Boone; born January 22, 1944) is an American politician serving as a Virginia state senator, representing the 18th District in the southeast region of the state since 1992. Democrats won a majority of seats in the 2019 Vir ...

, a senior Democratic senator succeeded Newman as president pro tempore.

Early life and education

Newman was born on October 15, 1964,Stephen D. Newman
Senate of Virginia. in

Stuart, Virginia Stuart is a town in Patrick County, Virginia, United States, where it is the county seat. The population was 1,408 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. The town of Stuart was named after Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, of nearby Ararat, ...

.Alex Rohr
Steve Newman's quiet rise to legislative leadership
''

News & Advance ''The News & Advance'' is the daily newspaper of record in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. Its primary circulation area consists of the city of Lynchburg and the surrounding counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell. ''The N ...

'' (March 12, 2016). His family later moved to

Rustburg, Virginia Rustburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Campbell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,585 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. The public high school in Ru ...

, where he attended

Liberty Christian Academy Liberty Christian Academy (LCA, founded as Lynchburg Christian Academy) is a private Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1967 by Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell Sr. as a ministry of Thomas Road Baptist Church and a segregation ac ...

. Newman then attended

Central Virginia Community College Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) is a public community college in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is part of the Virginia Community College System The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) oversees a network of 23 community colleges in Vi ...

and

Lynchburg College The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate ...

Career

Newman spent four years as a member of the Lynchburg City Council before being 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 ...

. He was a member of the House of Delegates from 1992 to 1996, and was elected to the

Virginia Senate 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 Virg ...

in 1995. He represents Senate District 23, which includes all of Botetourt and Craig counties and parts of Campbell County, Bedford County,

Roanoke County Roanoke County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the census-designated place of ...

, and Lynchburg City. His district is a

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...

Republican seat. Newman is chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health. Over his decades in the state legislature, Newman gained a reputation as a staunch conservative and a member with a talent for consensus-seeking and negotiation. In 2006, he was a sponsor of the

Marshall-Newman Amendment 2006 Virginia Question 1, the Marshall-Newman Amendment (also referred to as the Virginia Marriage Amendment) is an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia that defines marriage as solely between one man and one woman and bans recognition of ...

, which banned same-sex marriage in Virginia. He opposed

Medicaid expansion Under the public healthcare policy of the United States, some people have incomes too high to qualify in their state of residence for Medicaid, the public health insurance plan for those with limited resources, but too low to qualify for the pr ...

in Virginia. He opposed 2014 legislation to decriminalize marijuana in Virginia.Alicia Petska
Lynchburg area legislators oppose bill to decriminalize marijuana
''News & Advance'' (December 14, 2014). In January 2016, Newman was elected

Alex Rohr
Newman named Va. Senate president pro tem
''News & Advance'' (January 13, 2016). and held that position until the 2020 General Assembly session began. The main duty of the pro tem is to preside over the state Senate when the

lieutenant governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held ...

(who is the

president of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

) is unable to do so. , - , -

Notes

External links

Official campaign website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Stephen 1964 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Forest, Virginia People from Stuart, Virginia University of Lynchburg alumni Republican Party Virginia state senators 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly