Wendell Scott Walker is an American politician. Since 2020, he has been a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 52nd district, consisting of the city of Lynchburg and part of Campbell County.

Wendell Walker
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Assumed office
January 8, 2020
Preceded byScott Garrett
Constituency23rd district (2020–2024)
52nd district (2024–present)
Personal details
Born
Wendell Scott Walker

November 21, 1952
Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpousePatsy Walker
ResidenceLynchburg, Virginia
Alma materLiberty University
CommitteesHealth, Welfare and Institutions
Finance
General Laws
Websitehttps://www.wendellwalker.org/

Biography

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Walker is a prominent leader in the local Republican party, and has held positions in local and state committees, including the chair of the Lynchburg Republican Committee.[1]

Electoral history

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Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 23rd District
Jun 11, 2019[2] Republican primary Wendell S. Walker 2,486 41.7
E.J. Turner Perrow, Jr. 2,339 39.3
Ronald R. Berman 1,133 19
Nov 5, 2019[3] General Wendell S. Walker Republican 13,529 63.80
David A. Zilles Democratic 7,609 35.90
Write Ins 53 0.30
Scott Garrett retired; seat stayed Republican
Nov 2, 2021[4] General Wendell S. Walker Republican 22,045 66.57
Natalie A. Short Democratic 11,007 33.24
Write Ins 64 0.19
Nov 7, 2023[5] General Wendell S. Walker Republican 10,574 54.46
Jennifer K. Woofter Democratic 8,825 45.45
Write Ins 18 0.09

Tenure

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Equal Rights Amendment

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During the 2020 regular session, Walker voted yes for the Equal Rights Amendment,[6] which Conservative Activists opposed as it is argued to allow tax-payer funded Abortion Health Care.[7] Walker later claimed he intended to vote nay.[6]

Memorial of Harry F. Byrd

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In early February 2020, Walker proposed a bill to remove a Statue of Harry F. Byrd, a prominent Democrat who is often infamously remembered for his racist opposition to desegregation, in response to efforts from state Democrats to remove more Confederate statues in the state. Such measures were undertaken across the country in the aftermath of the Charleston church shooting in 2015 and they were eventually galvanized in the aftermath of the Unite The Right Rally in 2017. After the Democrats agreed to support his measure to remove the statue which serves as a tribute to Byrd, Walker requested that the state legislature should not consider his own bill. He said that "the reason I put that in was more of a political reason." Walker continued by saying "I think history is very important, whether it’s good, bad or ugly. I was not willing to allow the governor to have the opportunity to remove statues." Even though the Virginia House Rules Committee voted to let the bill go for the day, as opposed to removing it from consideration like Walker had requested, Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) said that she wanted to hear Walker's own reasoning on why he wanted to kill a bill that he himself had introduced for consideration in the state legislature. Two other bills were struck as supplications of their sponsors following the introduction of Walker's bill.[8][9][10][11]

References

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  1. ^ Chumney, Richard (June 11, 2019). "Lynchburg GOP chair Wendell Walker wins Republican nomination for 23rd House seat". The News & Advance. Lynchburg.
  2. ^ "June 2019 Republican Primary Official Results". Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  3. ^ "2019 Election Results - HOD". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  4. ^ "2021 November General Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  5. ^ "2023 November General and Special Elections". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  6. ^ a b "LIS > Bill Tracking > > 2020 session". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  7. ^ "How the debate over the ERA became a fight over abortion". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  8. ^ Coleman, Justine (February 3, 2020). "Virginia GOP delegate tries to kill own bill to remove Democratic segregationist statue". The Hill.
  9. ^ Friedenberger, Amy (February 7, 2020). "General Assembly notebook: Del. Wendell Walker's bill to take down Sen. Harry Byrd statue is dead". The Roanoke Times.
  10. ^ Vozzella, Laura (February 3, 2020). "How a Republican's proposal to remove a statue in Richmond may have backfired". The Washington Post.
  11. ^ Evans, Whittney (January 9, 2020). "Republican Calls To Take Down Statue of Former Gov. Harry Byrd". VPM News.