Susan Reid Swecker (born March 14, 1955) is an American public affairs consultant who served as the chair of the

Democratic Party of Virginia The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA/VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia. Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernatorial election, th ...

from 2015 to 2025. She was chairwoman of the

Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is a three-person board that oversees the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. The Board consists of a chairperson and two commissioners who direct all agency operations. Board members are full ...

Early life and education

Swecker was born and raised on a farm in Highland County, Virginia. She grew up in Stuarts Draft, Virginia. She volunteered in the Jimmy Carter 1976 presidential campaign. Swecker served as chairman of the democratic party of Highland County for six months. She attended

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

and earned her B.A. in political science from

Mary Baldwin University Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1842 as "Augusta Female Seminary". Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College fo ...

in 1977. She completed a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree at the

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the law school of Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association. Facilities are on the histo ...

Career

She began working as a legislative aide for state senator Frank W. Nolen following his special election win in 1977. In January 1978, Swecker conducted her first visit to 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, ...

. She worked on the 1978 U.S. senate campaign of Andrew Miller. She moved to

Blue Ridge, Virginia Blue Ridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,185 at the 2020 census. The CDP is located along U.S. Route 460. It is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area. Geography A ...

in 1978. In 1980, she was a field operations assistant with the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

where she supervised crew leaders and enumerators. The position ended in mid-June. In June 1981, she was elected first vice president of the Blue Ridge Democratic Women's Club. On December 3, 1981, Swecker, a member of the Augusta County Democratic Committee, was elected to serve a two-year term as its chair. From 1986 to 1988, she was the executive director of the

. She served as chairwoman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

's southern caucus. In 1992, Swecker served as the campaign manager of Steve Musselwhite, a first-time candidate for

Virginia's 6th congressional district Virginia's sixth congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It covers much of the west-central portion of the state, including Roanoke, Virg ...

. In 2000, Swecker was chairwoman of the Virginia delegation to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. She successfully lobbied the

for the 2004 Virginia Democratic presidential primary to occur in February, prompting visits by its candidates. She was the state director of the

John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign The 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry, the longtime U.S. senator from Massachusetts, began when he formed an exploratory committee on December 1, 2002. On September 2, 2003, he formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomina ...

. Swecker was chairwoman of the

. In 2013, she served on the transition team of Virginia governor

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

. She was a member of the Democratic National Committee. In 2015, she was elected as chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, succeeding Dwight Clinton Jones. In 2022, she was reelected as party chair. During her tenure, the party expanded from four full-time staff and an annual operating budget of under to 15 unionized full-time staff members and a budget of over . She is a public affairs consultant and the president of Dividing Waters Public Affairs LLC.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swecker, Susan 1955 births 21st-century Virginia politicians 21st-century American women politicians American campaign managers Democratic Party of Virginia chairs Living people Mary Baldwin University alumni People from Augusta County, Virginia People from Highland County, Virginia United States Census Bureau people Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni Women in Virginia politics