Kathleen Murphy is the Democratic incumbent representing District 34. She only won her district by a couple of percentage points in 2015, however. Therefore, she’s working hard to hold onto her seat.

Location: The 34th District, in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, Virginia, includes McLean, Vienna, Wolf Trap, Great Falls and parts of Eastern Loudoun.

Kathleen’s Story:  When I first ran for the House of Delegates, I made a promise that I would fight for common sense gun legislation in Richmond.

When I was elected to represent Virginia’s 34th District I was shocked at the swift and total resistance from Republicans in the legislature to any bill addressing gun safety issues. They said no to every bill — including a bill to take guns out of the hands of convicted repeat violent domestic abusers. Dangerous individuals.

So I stood on the floor of the General Assembly and told my story. I told my fellow legislators about my brother, who was murdered by a criminal with an illegal gun. For me, this issue is personal. After that, I was able to open a conversation with my colleagues across the aisle. They began to talk with me, not as an opponent, but as a person who had suffered the loss of a family member.

Since then, I am incredibly proud to say that I have worked to pass laws that have made our communities safer. My bill, HB 1391, provides that it is a Class 6 felony for a person that is subject to a permanent protective order to possess a firearm while the order is in effect. It was a struggle — but we got it done.

I am asking for your support for my re-election this November to continue to represent Virginia’s 34th District. We’ve done some good things but there is much work to be done.

I need your help to be re-elected so I can go back to Richmond once again, where I can continue to work to pass sensible gun legislation and make a difference in the lives of Virginians.

Bio: Former President of Johnson Murphy & Associates, a McLean consulting firm; Senior Advisor for International Trade issues at the Department of Commerce and handled Congressional Affairs at USAID; senior staff for Congressman Charlie Wilson (D-TX), where she handled Defense and Foreign Operations appropriations; helped found Salute Our Services, which connected deployed service members to their families; played a critical role in Women’s Campaign International, dedicated to teaching women in developing countries how to become political leaders. Kathleen and her husband Bill Sudow are long time McLean residents and have 4 children.

Issues: The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter gave Kathleen a 100% rating for her 2016 voting record. Kathleen drafted bills on gun violence prevention and cybersecurity that passed against long odds. She is a huge supporter of small businesses and got legislation passed to make getting loans easier for minority and women-owned small businesses. She is working with community colleges to credential veterans so their military training translates to the civilian workforce.

Recent elections: Kathleen’s constituents voted for Hillary by a margin of 21% over Trump, which is a substantial change from their vote for Obama over Romney (0.47%).

Website: www.murphyfordelegate.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KathleenMurphyforDelegate
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kmurphyva
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Kathleen_J._Murphy_(Virginia)