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Virginia House of Delegates
Mark Downey
House of Delegates — District 69
Democrat
Campaign Website →
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
0
/ 100
—
Raw: 0 of 8 dynamic max
· 4 of 49 answered
State tier49 of 50 rubric questions apply at this office level — federal-only questions are marked N/A and excluded from the dynamic max. How tier grading works →
Last verified: · from claim evidence
✝ God First
0/ 70
🏛️ State First
0/ 30
National Rank
#5,833 of 9,024 · bottom 35.4% among candidates with at least one scored answer
See the full rankings →Contact This Official
Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.
Next Election
November 2, 2027
General · Seat up at next election
— until
Registration deadline: 2026-10-13
Early voting: 2026-09-18 – 2026-10-31
State elections office: (804) 864-8901
Voter status: Check registration
State elections site: Virginia Department of Elections
Official Profile
Religion: Lutheran (per official VA House member profile)
Background: Mark C. Downey (D), VA House of Delegates District 69 (parts of Gloucester, James City, York counties + part of Newport News). Freshman — flipped the seat from GOP incumbent Chad Green in Nov 2025; sworn in Jan 14, 2026. Pediatrician (~25 years, Williamsburg area; the only physician in the General Assembly). B.S. Chemical Engineering, UVA (1988); M.D., VCU (1996). Serves on Counties, Cities & Towns and Health & Human Services.
VA Delegate, HD-69 (FRESHMAN, sworn Jan 14, 2026 after flipping the seat). [2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement, state tier] Scored ONLY on his documented strict-party-line opening-day second-reference constitutional-amendment floor votes; he has no other roll-call record yet, so every other cell is null (campaign-trail and advocacy-guide characterizations were NOT scored). MARRIAGE: HJ3 (marriage repeal amendment, second reference) passed the House 67-31 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES -> as a seated Democrat he is within that bloc. SANCTITY: HJ1 (reproductive-freedom amendment, second reference) passed 64-34 with all 64 Democrats voting YES. Individual line-item not separately pulled from the JS-rendered LIS roll-call page, but these were strict-party-line recorded floor votes (every House Democrat YES). His occupation is medicine; top stated priority is universal health coverage. Treat as a thin but real evidence record.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
1 claim
Voted YES on HJ1 (January 14, 2026) — the required second legislative passage of Virginia's constitutional amendment establishing a 'fundamental right to reproductive freedom,' including abortion care at any stage of pregnancy with no gestational limit. Downey took office the same day, January 14, 2026, and voted with all but two Democrats in the 64-34 passage. During his 2025 campaign he had stated he would vote for the constitutional amendment to 'ensure women have full autonomy over reproductive decisions.'
- Virginia Legislative Information SystemOfficial
- Cardinal NewsLocal News
- vavoterguide.comUnclassified
Candidate has voted for or sponsored state legislation moving toward abortion abolition (e.g., heartbeat ban, total ban) — not merely restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state funding for embryonic stem-cell research and supports state IVF embryo-protection laws
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state physician-assisted suicide laws and opposes state Medicaid death-panel rationing
Not yet verified
FEC / state campaign-finance search found no abortion-industry PAC contributions for state-legislative or statewide-office campaigns (as of the cited search date)
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
Candidate opposes state recognition of same-sex marriage / civil unions / domestic partnerships, and supports state non-recognition resolutions where federally permitted
FALSE (0)[3]
1 claim
Voted YES on HJ3 (January 14, 2026), the second and final legislative passage of Virginia's constitutional amendment to repeal Article I, Section 15-A — the 2006 voter-approved provision defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman. The House passed the repeal amendment 67-31 on the opening day of the 2026 General Assembly session; Downey voted with the Democratic majority in favor. The amendment was placed on the November 2026 ballot for voter ratification.
- Virginia Legislative Information SystemOfficial
- Cardinal NewsLocal News
- Virginia Independent NewsLocal News
Candidate has voted for state legislation affirming biological sex (bathroom/locker access, sports participation, minor gender-procedure bans)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports state no-fault divorce reform and pro-marriage policy (covenant marriage option, waiting periods, etc.)
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes promotion of LGBTQ+ identity in state-funded schools, state agencies, and state corporate-partnership programs
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state school-choice (vouchers, ESAs, charter expansion) and supports state homeschool freedom statutes
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state law requiring parental notification + consent on minors' medical, mental-health, and gender interventions (incl. school counseling referrals)
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state law restricting CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology curricula in K-12
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state age-verification laws on pornographic content and state criminal penalties for sexualizing minors
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state RFRA-style protections for faith-based adoption + foster agencies; opposes state-mandated SS-couple placement
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state conscience-exemption laws (state RFRA, medical-professional carve-outs, business-owner protections)
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state-level pronoun mandates + state 'hate speech' laws restricting Christian conviction
Not yet verified
Candidate supports state public-square Christian display protections + state legislative prayer + state Sunday-closure laws
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes state-funded promotion of non-Christian religious displays/curricula/holidays in state institutions
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state law protecting cash as legal tender, opposing state-level CBDC pilot programs, and protecting crypto-as-property status
Not yet verified
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has voted for state balanced-budget compliance + opposed state borrowing for non-capital expenditures
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state usury caps + state predatory-lending protections + state charitable-deduction parity
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted for state pension/treasury divestment from ESG-aligned funds (e.g., BlackRock) + state anti-monopoly enforcement against financial cartels
Not yet verified
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted for state hand-count requirements / opposed electronic voting machines
Not yet verified
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted for state photo voter ID + citizenship verification at registration
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted to restrict state early-voting windows + tighten state absentee qualifications to verified medical/military
Not yet verified
Candidate has voted against state mass mail-in voting expansion, against state drop-box deployment, and against legalizing ballot harvesting
Not yet verified
Candidate (state SoS/legislature) has voted to ban state acceptance of private election grants ('Zuckerbucks') + state penalties for foreign interference
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted for state-funded border-security measures (e.g., TX Operation Lone Star analog, AZ wall expansion)
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted for state laws requiring local cooperation with ICE deportation enforcement
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted to preempt or punish sanctuary-city policies + ban state cities from declaring sanctuary status
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted for state E-Verify mandate (beyond federal floor) for state employers + state-benefit eligibility verification
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted to restrict foreign ownership of state farmland (e.g., China-buyer prohibitions)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports constitutional carry without permit requirements
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted against state red-flag laws, mag-capacity limits, AWBs, and registries (or voted to repeal where enacted)
FALSE (0)
1 claim
A Williamsburg pediatrician who ran on gun-safety measures and received endorsements from Brady United, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Giffords. After taking office, he voted YES on SB749 (March 4, 2026), Virginia's assault-firearms ban prohibiting the purchase, sale, importation, manufacture, or transfer of semi-automatic centerfire rifles and magazines over 15 rounds. The House passed the bill 59-35 on a near-party-line vote.
- vavoterguide.comUnclassified
- Virginia Legislative Information SystemOfficial
- Virginia MercuryLean Left
Candidate (state) has voted for state constitutional-carry statute
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted against state universal-background-check schemes
Not yet verified
Candidate (state) has voted to enact / strengthen state Castle Doctrine + stand-your-ground statute
Not yet verified
Candidate has publicly backed law enforcement and opposed defunding/dismantling police
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
Not yet verified
Candidate supports victim restitution and proportional punishment of evildoers
Not yet verified
Candidate refuses to treat violent crime as a "public health" excuse to avoid punishment
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4)
Not yet verified
Official has voted for or sponsored 10th-Amendment nullification or anti-commandeering measures
Not yet verified
Official has declined unconstitutional federal mandates or federal strings on the state
Not yet verified
Official has resisted federal overreach on guns, life, education, or religious liberty
Not yet verified
Official affirms state sovereignty against unconstitutional federal action
Not yet verified
Official has opposed federal capture of state elections, data, or land
Not yet verified
Sources & Evidence
2 Center4 Right5 Official3 Reference3 Other
Vote Smart — Voting RecordReference
reportcard.familyfoundation.org/Right Advocacy
www.vcdl.org/Right Advocacy
reportcard.familyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2...Right Advocacy
freedomindex.us/va/Right Advocacy
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Downey_(politician)Encyclopedia
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.
References & footnotes
Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.
- [1]HJ1, the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (second reference), passed the House 64-34 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey, a seated Democrat, is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm personhood from conception. Official
HJ1, the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (second reference), passed the House 64-34 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey, a seated Democrat, is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm personhood from conception.
- [2]HJ1, the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (second reference), passed the House 64-34 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey, a seated Democrat, is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm personhood from conception. Center
HJ1, the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (second reference), passed the House 64-34 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey, a seated Democrat, is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm personhood from conception.
- [3]HJ3, the same-sex-marriage repeal amendment (second reference), passed the House 67-31 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm marriage as one man and one woman. Official
HJ3, the same-sex-marriage repeal amendment (second reference), passed the House 67-31 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm marriage as one man and one woman.
- [4]HJ3, the same-sex-marriage repeal amendment (second reference), passed the House 67-31 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm marriage as one man and one woman. Encyclopedia
HJ3, the same-sex-marriage repeal amendment (second reference), passed the House 67-31 on Jan 14, 2026 with all 64 Democrats voting YES; Downey is within that strict-party-line bloc — does not affirm marriage as one man and one woman.
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