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Virginia State Senate
Schuyler VanValkenburg
State Senate — District 16
Democrat
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
0
/ 100
F
Raw: 0 of 24 dynamic max
· 12 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
#5,146 of 8,957 · bottom 42.5% 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
Primary · Not up at next scheduled election
— until
Registration deadline: 2026-10-13
Early voting: 2026-09-18 – 2026-10-31
Elections office: (804) 864-8901
Voter status: Check registration
State elections site: Virginia Department of Elections
Official Profile
Religion: Presbyterian (per VA Senate member page / LegiStorm; not emphasized publicly)
Background: VA State Senator, SD-16 (Henrico County), sitting since Jan 2024; defeated incumbent Siobhan Dunnavant Nov 2023; former Delegate HD-72 (2018-2024). History/U.S. Government teacher at Glen Allen HS, National Board Certified; the only public-school teacher in the Senate. B.A. History (Univ. of Richmond), M.A. History (VCU); father of three.
VA State Senator, SD-16 (Henrico); sitting since Jan 2024; term runs through 2028. [2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement, state tier] Uniformly progressive HARD record. Co-patron + YEA on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (SJ247 2025 / HJ1 2026); ReproRising 2025 scorecard A+ ('Champion'); ChoiceTracker 'Pro-Choice' (Planned Parenthood Action endorsed). YEA on the same-sex-marriage amendment HJ3 (Senate 26-13, 01/16/2026). Vocal opponent of Education Savings Accounts / school choice. Lead sponsor of legislation returning VA to the ERIC multistate voter-data partnership; in the Democratic majority that advanced felon-voting restoration (HJ2). In the Senate Democratic bloc that passed the 2026 ICE-cooperation restrictions (21-19 party line) and the $15 minimum-wage law; championed the 2026 gun-reform package (assault-weapons ban, magazine limit, red-flag expansion). No conservative deviations found. RECORD CORRECTION: SB1031 (homeschool religious-exemption repeal) belongs to Sen. Pekarsky, NOT VanValkenburg — do not attribute it to him.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
1 claim
Schuyler VanValkenburg co-sponsored the Repeal Act — a Virginia bill to eliminate existing restrictions on abortion later in pregnancy — and has consistently backed legislation protecting abortion access through all trimesters under medical discretion, rejecting any life-at-conception or personhood standard. He supports Virginia's constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution.
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
- BallotpediaCenter
- Virginia MercuryLean Left
Candidate has voted for or sponsored state legislation moving toward abortion abolition (e.g., heartbeat ban, total ban) — not merely restrictions
FALSE (0)[3]
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
Candidate has never accepted abortion-industry PAC funding for state-legislative or statewide-office campaigns
FALSE (0)[3]
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)[5]
Candidate has voted for state legislation affirming biological sex (bathroom/locker access, sports participation, minor gender-procedure bans)
FALSE (0)[3]
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
FALSE (0)[4]
Candidate has voted for state school-choice (vouchers, ESAs, charter expansion) and supports state homeschool freedom statutes
FALSE (0)[6]
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
FALSE (0)[7]
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
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
FALSE (0)[9]
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)[10]
1 claim
VanValkenburg introduced legislation creating felony charges for parents or guardians who allow a child under 18 to access a firearm — the Lucia Bremer Act (named for a 13-year-old shot by a classmate). He declared safe gun-storage legislation would be his first bill in the Senate, stating 'We can and must do more to keep our kids safe from gun violence.' He opposes constitutional-carry and unrestricted access principles the rubric supports.
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
- BallotpediaCenter
- 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 Left2 Lean Left1 Center4 Right5 Official2 Reference2 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
Choice Tracker — Abortion VotesLeft Advocacy
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]Co-patron + YEA on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (SJ247/HJ1); ReproRising 2025 A+ 'Champion' — does not affirm personhood from conception. Official
Co-patron + YEA on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (SJ247/HJ1); ReproRising 2025 A+ 'Champion' — does not affirm personhood from conception.
- [2]Co-patron + YEA on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (SJ247/HJ1); ReproRising 2025 A+ 'Champion' — does not affirm personhood from conception. Left Advocacy
Co-patron + YEA on the reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment (SJ247/HJ1); ReproRising 2025 A+ 'Champion' — does not affirm personhood from conception.
- [3]ChoiceTracker 'Pro-Choice': voted the full abortion-access slate — opposite of abortion-abolition. Left Advocacy
ChoiceTracker 'Pro-Choice': voted the full abortion-access slate — opposite of abortion-abolition.
- [4]Voted YEA on HJ3, the amendment repealing Virginia's same-sex-marriage ban (Senate 26-13, 01/16/2026). Center
Voted YEA on HJ3, the amendment repealing Virginia's same-sex-marriage ban (Senate 26-13, 01/16/2026).
- [5]Voted YEA on HJ3, the amendment repealing Virginia's same-sex-marriage ban (Senate 26-13, 01/16/2026). Official
Voted YEA on HJ3, the amendment repealing Virginia's same-sex-marriage ban (Senate 26-13, 01/16/2026).
- [6]Vocal opponent of Education Savings Accounts / private-school choice; argues vouchers 'defund public schools.' Lean Left
Vocal opponent of Education Savings Accounts / private-school choice; argues vouchers 'defund public schools.'
- [7]In the Senate Democratic majority that passed the $15 minimum-wage law and expanded social spending (party-line 20-19). Lean Left
In the Senate Democratic majority that passed the $15 minimum-wage law and expanded social spending (party-line 20-19).
- [8]Lead sponsor of returning VA to the ERIC voter-data partnership and in the felon-voting-restoration majority (HJ2) — expansionist, opposite of photo-ID/citizenship-verification restriction. Lean Left
Lead sponsor of returning VA to the ERIC voter-data partnership and in the felon-voting-restoration majority (HJ2) — expansionist, opposite of photo-ID/citizenship-verification restriction.
- [9]In the Senate Democratic bloc (21-19 party line) that passed bills ending 287(g) agreements and restricting local cooperation with ICE — opposite of anti-sanctuary/federal-enforcement-cooperation position. Unclassified
In the Senate Democratic bloc (21-19 party line) that passed bills ending 287(g) agreements and restricting local cooperation with ICE — opposite of anti-sanctuary/federal-enforcement-cooperation position.
- [10]In the Democratic majority that advanced the 2026 gun-reform package — assault-weapons ban, 15-round magazine limit, red-flag expansion. Unclassified
In the Democratic majority that advanced the 2026 gun-reform package — assault-weapons ban, 15-round magazine limit, red-flag expansion.
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