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Virginia State Senate
Scott Surovell
State Senate — District 34 (Senate Majority Leader)
Democrat
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
0
/ 100
F
Raw: 0 of 26 dynamic max
· 13 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
#5,155 of 8,957 · bottom 42.4% 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
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: Not publicly confirmed (no stated current affiliation; family history notes ancestors who fled Jewish persecution in Russia/Poland — heritage, not a stated faith)
Education: James Madison University (BA Political Science, 1993), University of Virginia School of Law (JD, 1996)
Birthplace: Washington, D.C. (12th-generation Virginian)
Background: VA State Senator, SD-34 (City of Fairfax + Fairfax County); Senate Majority Leader (since Jan 2024) and Judiciary chair; in the Senate since a Jan 2010 special election. 12th-generation Virginian; JD, UVA Law; trial attorney.
VA Senate Majority Leader, SD-34; in the Senate since 2010. [2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement, state tier] Strongly progressive, well-documented leadership record. SANCTITY OF LIFE: ReproRising 2025 'A+ Champion'; voted YES on the reproductive-freedom amendment (SJ247). MARRIAGE: voted YES on the same-sex-marriage amendment (SJ249); chief sponsor of Virginia's 2020 conversion-therapy ban for minors. ELECTIONS: vocal floor proponent of repealing Virginia's voter-photo-ID requirement (2020). PUBLIC JUSTICE: chief patron of the 2021 death-penalty abolition (SB1165, Senate 21-17); led the 2020 policing-reform effort and ended jury-sentencing. IMMIGRATION: sponsored ICE-restriction bills and 2020 driver-privilege cards for undocumented residents. SELF-DEFENSE: Giffords champion; chief patron of SB436 (2020 voluntary do-not-sell-firearms list) and co-patron of the 2020 red-flag law. ONE GENUINE CROSS-PARTY DEVIATION (noted, NOT scored as alignment): in 2020 he voted in committee AGAINST advancing an assault-weapons ban — but he stated this was strategic/timing and that he supports banning assault weapons, so it does not represent a pro-2A position. Family/child-sovereignty, Christian-liberty, federal-overreach = NO public record, NULL.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
FALSE (0)[1]
1 claim
As Virginia Senate Majority Leader, Scott Surovell declared upon taking leadership: 'We need to get Roe v. Wade into the constitution of Virginia.' In January 2025 he supported the constitutional amendment recognizing Virginians' fundamental right to reproductive freedom — encompassing abortion, contraception, miscarriage management, and fertility care — directly rejecting any life-at-conception or personhood standard.
- BallotpediaCenter
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
- Virginia Public Access ProjectReference
Candidate has voted for or sponsored state legislation moving toward abortion abolition (e.g., heartbeat ban, total ban) — not merely restrictions
FALSE (0)[2]
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
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
FALSE (0)[3]
1 claim
In January 2025, Surovell co-sponsored the constitutional amendment to repeal Virginia's 2006 marriage amendment that defined marriage as 'only a union between a man and a woman,' clearing the way to remove the one-man-one-woman definition from the Virginia Constitution and replace it with no-restriction language. He is a vocal champion of same-sex marriage rights, directly rejecting the biblical definition of marriage the rubric upholds.
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
- BallotpediaCenter
- richmondsunlight.comUnclassified
Candidate opposes state recognition of same-sex marriage / civil unions / domestic partnerships, and supports state non-recognition resolutions where federally permitted
FALSE (0)[3]
Candidate has voted for state legislation affirming biological sex (bathroom/locker access, sports participation, minor gender-procedure bans)
FALSE (0)[4]
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
FALSE (0)[5]
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
FALSE (0)[6]
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)[7]
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
FALSE (0)[8]
Candidate (state) has voted against state red-flag laws, mag-capacity limits, AWBs, and registries (or voted to repeal where enacted)
FALSE (0)[9]
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
FALSE (0)[8]
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
FALSE (0)[10]
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)
FALSE (0)[11]
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
1 Left1 Lean Left4 Right4 Official3 Reference5 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
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_SurovellEncyclopedia
legiscan.com/VA/bill/SB1165/2021Reference
giffords.org/candidates/scott-surovell/Unclassified
www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2020/sb436/Unclassified
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]ReproRising 2025 'A+ Champion'; voted YES on the reproductive-freedom amendment (SJ247) — does not affirm personhood from conception. Left Advocacy
ReproRising 2025 'A+ Champion'; voted YES on the reproductive-freedom amendment (SJ247) — does not affirm personhood from conception.
- [2]Voted the full pro-abortion-access agenda; opposite of abortion-abolition legislation. Official
Voted the full pro-abortion-access agenda; opposite of abortion-abolition legislation.
- [3]Voted YES on the same-sex-marriage constitutional amendment (SJ249, Senate 24-15, Jan 21 2025) — does not affirm marriage as one man and one woman. Official
Voted YES on the same-sex-marriage constitutional amendment (SJ249, Senate 24-15, Jan 21 2025) — does not affirm marriage as one man and one woman.
- [4]Chief sponsor of Virginia's 2020 conversion-therapy ban for minors — opposite of rejecting transgender/gender-identity ideology. Encyclopedia
Chief sponsor of Virginia's 2020 conversion-therapy ban for minors — opposite of rejecting transgender/gender-identity ideology.
- [5]Voted with Democrats for the $15 minimum-wage increase; expansionary fiscal priorities, opposite of balanced-budget restraint. Lean Left
Voted with Democrats for the $15 minimum-wage increase; expansionary fiscal priorities, opposite of balanced-budget restraint.
- [6]Vocal Senate-floor proponent of repealing Virginia's voter-photo-ID requirement (2020) — opposite of supporting photo voter ID with citizenship verification. Lean Left
Vocal Senate-floor proponent of repealing Virginia's voter-photo-ID requirement (2020) — opposite of supporting photo voter ID with citizenship verification.
- [7]Sponsored bills restricting ICE detainers/enforcement and 2020 driver-privilege cards for undocumented residents — opposite of opposing sanctuary policies. Unclassified
Sponsored bills restricting ICE detainers/enforcement and 2020 driver-privilege cards for undocumented residents — opposite of opposing sanctuary policies.
- [8]Giffords 'unparalleled champion'; record is uniformly pro-gun-control, opposite of permitless constitutional carry. Unclassified
Giffords 'unparalleled champion'; record is uniformly pro-gun-control, opposite of permitless constitutional carry.
- [9]Co-patron of Virginia's 2020 red-flag (extreme-risk protective order) law and chief patron of SB436 (do-not-sell list) — supports the very measures this cell asks the candidate to oppose. Unclassified
Co-patron of Virginia's 2020 red-flag (extreme-risk protective order) law and chief patron of SB436 (do-not-sell list) — supports the very measures this cell asks the candidate to oppose.
- [10]Chief patron of the 2021 death-penalty abolition (SB1165) — opposite of proportional punishment of the gravest evildoers. Reference
Chief patron of the 2021 death-penalty abolition (SB1165) — opposite of proportional punishment of the gravest evildoers.
- [11]Chief patron abolishing capital punishment — contrary to affirming the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4). Unclassified
Chief patron abolishing capital punishment — contrary to affirming the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4).
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