Robert Creigh Deeds

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R. Creigh Deeds
Robert Creigh Deeds
In office
January 2002–Present
Preceded by Emily Couric
Succeeded by Incumbent (2008)
Born January 4, 1958
Richmond, VA
Political party Democratic
Spouse Pam Deeds
Religion Presbyterian

Robert Creigh Deeds (born January 4, 1958) is a Virginia lawyer and politician who serves in the Senate of Virginia and was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virginia in 2005, eventually losing by the closest margin in Virginia History, 323 votes or about 0.0001615%.

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[edit] Early life

Deeds was born in Richmond, Virginia, and named for confederate hero David Creigh. As such, Deeds simply goes by the name Creigh. However, his family soon moved to rural Bath County, their ancestral home. His family had historically been important in Bath County politics and his grandfather, Creigh Tyree, ran the Democratic Party in the county during the Great Depression. Perhaps as a result of this heritage, Deeds was drawn to a political career from a young age, and declared in high school, "I want to be president of the United States".

After graduating from high school, Deeds enrolled in Concord College, graduating in 1980. Next, Deeds entered the Wake Forest University School of Law from which he received his JD in 1984. In 1987, only three years after finishing law school, Deeds was elected Commonwealth Attorney in Bath County after defeating the incumbent with more than 65% of the vote, beginning a long political career.

[edit] State Legislature

In 1991, Deeds won a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates from the 18th as a Democrat, defeating incumbent Republican Delegate Emmett Hanger with an unheard of 57% of the vote. He was re-elected 5 times with an average 82% of the vote, serving as a delegate for ten years. He was elected to the Virginia State Senate in a special election in 2001 after the death of Senator Emily Couric. He was subsequently re-elected in 2003.

During his legislative career, Deeds campaigned for environmental legislation, including cleaning up a landfill in Alleghany County, a part of his district. Deeds also supported hunting and fishing rights and drafted an amendment to the Virginia Constitution that guarantees hunting and fishing as fundamental rights to Virginians. Deeds also helped pass Megan's Law, a law requiring that sex offenders register with the state.

[edit] Campaign for Attorney General

In 2005, Deeds and John Edwards, another Virginia state senator from Roanoke, both announced that they planned to run for Attorney General of Virginia in the Democratic primary. However, Edwards later decided not to run, leaving Deeds as the Democratic nominee for the office. As such, Deeds was left to face Republican Bob McDonnell in the November general election.

[edit] Issues and Positions

In the campaign, Deeds presented himself as a conservative Democrat, supporting gun rights, strong punishment for criminals, and the death penalty. Senator Deeds is strongly pro-choice, although he did profess opposition to partial birth abortions. In what many considered a victory omen, Deeds' stance on gun rights earned him the endorsement of the NRA. However, the McDonnell campaign outspent Deeds by almost three million dollars (McDonnell spent $5,962,067 whereas Deeds spent $3,103,040).

[edit] Outcome

[edit] Recount

Due to the closeness of the race's outcome, Deeds announced that he would ask for a recount. Judge Theodore Markow of Richmond set the recount for December 20, 2005, a date so close to the inauguration that invitations to the event were mailed without a name for the Attorney General to be inaugurated. However, the recount reaffirmed the earlier outcome and McDonnell became Attorney General.

[edit] Return to the Senate

After losing the Attorney General race, Deeds returned to work in the Virginia Senate. Deeds quickly introduced several bills inspired by his defeat including SB 628 to limit out of state campaign contributions, and SB 272 to require voting "paper trails" from electronic voting machines. Deeds also introduced bills to address some of the issues he had raised in his campaign including SB 146 to limit the sale of materials used to produce methamphetamine and measures to regulate sex offenders that became SB 559.

[edit] Future

Although Deeds' lost the election for Attorney General, he is considered to be one of the front-runners for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2009. Deeds has formed a PAC to promote Democratic candidates across Virginia.

The National Journal, a publication that watches politics, in a section entitled "Virginia's stars" said that Senator Deeds was, "one of the best fighters we got." and "He'll be seen again in the future."

[edit] Professional career

Prior to beginning his service in the General Assembly, Deeds was the Commonwealth's Attorney for Bath County. He maintained a private practice in Bath County from 1991 until 2006, when he joined the large Richmond corporate firm Hirschler Fleischer. He concentrates on civil and commercial disputes.

[edit] Future Deeds PAC

In September 2006, Senator Deeds founded Future Deeds PAC, an organization devoted to regaining a Democratic majority in the Virginia General Assembly. In a letter on the PAC’s site, Senator Deeds says:

"I’d like to take this opportunity to let you know what I’ve been up to the past few months and let you know about the “Future Deeds” I have been planning. We must elect Democratic majorities to the General Assembly if we want to keep Virginia moving forward. I’m convinced that we can take important steps toward regaining control of the General Assembly in the 2007 elections. That’s why I’m proud to announce the formation of my new political action committee – the Future Deeds PAC – an organization that will work to get Democrats elected to the Virginia General Assembly and take back the majority in the state senate."
"Next year provides us with a unique opportunity to regain the majority. I know that with hard work we can take back the Virginia Senate. Right now I’m recruiting strong candidates with a commitment to moving our state forward and we already have some exceptional ones ready to share their visions for Virginia’s future. I hope we can all join together in these efforts to give Governor Tim Kaine the help he needs in the General Assembly to bring responsible leadership back to our commonwealth. In the coming years Virginia will face real challenges, and we need real leaders with real solutions to keep us moving forward."

[edit] Interest Group Ratings

[edit] Election Results

  • 2003 Race for Virginia Senate (25th District)
  • 2001 Special Election for Virginia Senate (26th District)
  • 2001 Race for House of Delegates (12th District)
  • 1999 Race for House of Delegates (18th)
  • 1997 Race for House of Delegates (18th)
  • 1995 Race for House of Delegates (18th)
  • 1993 Race for House of Delegates (18th)
  • 1991 Race for House of Delegates (18th District)
    • Creigh Deeds (D), 57.1%
    • Emmett Hanger (Incumbent-R), 42.9%

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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