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 First18/ 70
🏛️ State First4/ 30
★National Rank
#4,183 of 8,944 · top 46.8%among candidates with at least one scored answer
Religion: Self-describes as faith-grounded; teaches at Holy Cross Academy (Catholic school), Stafford; denomination not publicly confirmed
Background: Virginia State Senator, District 27 (Fredericksburg/Stafford/Spotsylvania), sitting since Jan 2024; former Delegate HD-28 (2022-2024). Educator/librarian; 'Marine wife,' three children. Now running for U.S. House VA-7 (R primary Aug 2026).
VA State Senator, SD-27 (sitting since Jan 2024); former Delegate HD-28. Running for U.S. House VA-7 in 2026 (one-record dual-office: current office is the sitting Senate seat). [2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement, state tier] Genuinely conservative HARD record: consistent pro-life voting (graded F/'Extremist' by ReproRising; voted NO on the SJ247 reproductive-freedom constitutional amendment); sponsored parental-notification gender bills (HB1707, 'Sage's Law') and a parents'-rights bill on sexually-explicit school material; voted against SB1031 (homeschool restriction); sponsored a vehicle-tax-relief credit + ALEC member; tough-on-crime (fentanyl penalties, Marcus alert). KEY DEVIATION (verified via VPAP primary roll call): voted YES on the same-sex-marriage constitutional amendment (HJ3, 01/16/2026; and the 2025 first reference) — biblical_marriage q0/q1 FALSE. Election-integrity and 2A specifics rest on caucus-unity inference (92%), not isolated roll calls, so left null pending a cited vote.
One of 19 VA Senate Republicans who voted against the all-trimester abortion constitutional amendment (SJ1, 2025 and 2026 sessions), unanimously opposing the Democratic majority's effort to enshrine unrestricted abortion through the third trimester into Virginia's constitution.
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)
On January 16, 2026, Durant voted YES on HJR3 in the Virginia Senate — a joint resolution placing a constitutional amendment on the November 2026 ballot that would repeal Virginia's existing constitutional provision defining marriage as solely the union of one man and one woman, replacing it with language recognizing marriages 'without regard to sex, gender, or race.' The Senate passed the measure 26-13; Durant was one of exactly four Republicans who crossed party lines to vote yes alongside Democrats, while the rest of the Republican caucus voted no. No public statement by Durant explaining her vote appeared in any indexed news source. Her yes vote is the operative record: she voted to remove Virginia's constitutional recognition of one-man-one-woman marriage from state law — the opposite of the rubric's standard.
Candidate opposes state recognition of same-sex marriage / civil unions / domestic partnerships, and supports state non-recognition resolutions where federally permitted
Introduced a floor amendment to the Virginia abortion constitutional amendment that would have added parental rights protections — requiring parental involvement in minors' abortion decisions — which Democrats voted down, demonstrating Durant's commitment to parental authority over children's medical decisions.
Candidate has voted for state law requiring parental notification + consent on minors' medical, mental-health, and gender interventions (incl. school counseling referrals)
Durant's 2025-2026 congressional campaign (she suspended the bid May 22, 2026) explicitly committed to a Balanced Budget Amendment as a named federal legislative priority. Her campaign website (taradurant.com/meet-tara/) stated she would 'fight for pro-growth, America-first policies — including a Balanced Budget Amendment, permanent Trump tax cuts for American families, and ending taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security.' Her June 18, 2025 launch statement, carried by Potomac Local, said: 'Now I'm running for Congress to take that same fight to Washington and work with President Trump to secure our border, fully fund our police, end the reckless spending, and restore common-sense leadership.' Her X announcement described partnering with Gov. Youngkin 'to cut taxes, back the blue, and grow our economy.' A named Balanced Budget Amendment commitment is the clearest possible alignment with the rubric's anti-deficit standard.
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
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
Candidate (state) has voted for state-funded border-security measures (e.g., TX Operation Lone Star analog, AZ wall expansion)
TRUE (+2)
i 1 claim
Durant's congressional campaign website (taradurant.com/issues/) stated she would 'fight to keep poison out of our communities, build the wall, and end taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants,' and that 'Tara knows open borders bring crime, trafficking, and deadly drugs like fentanyl.' Her June 2025 campaign launch included a pledge to 'work with President Trump to secure our border, balance the budget, and put America first,' covered in the Fredericksburg Free Press and Potomac Local. The explicit border-wall pledge combined with ending taxpayer subsidies for illegal immigrants and invoking Trump's full border agenda places her squarely within the rubric's wall-and-enforcement standard.
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)
TRUE (+2)
i 1 claim
As a Republican in the Virginia House of Delegates (2022–2024) and then state Senate (2024–present), Durant consistently voted against gun-control packages advanced by Virginia Democrats, including legislation to create red-flag (extreme risk protection order) laws and expand background-check mandates. The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) — which grades every member of the General Assembly on gun votes — lists Durant as a Second Amendment defender for opposing new firearm restrictions; she opposes red-flag ERPOs, assault-weapons bans, and magazine-capacity limits. Her 2026 congressional campaign platform identifies protecting Second Amendment rights as a core commitment.
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.
Voted YES on the same-sex-marriage constitutional amendment (HJ3, 01/16/2026; and 2025 first reference) — does not affirm marriage as one man and one woman.
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