Jennifer Carroll Foy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jennifer Carroll Foy
Carroll Foy in 2017
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 33rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2024
Preceded by	Constituency established
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 2nd district
In office January 10, 2018 – December 12, 2020
Preceded by	Mark Dudenhefer
Succeeded by	Candi Mundon King
Personal details
Born	Jennifer Denise Carroll (1981-09-25) September 25, 1981 (age 43) Petersburg, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jeffrey Foy
Children	2
Education	Virginia Military Institute (BA) Virginia State University (MA) Thomas Jefferson School of Law (JD)

Jennifer Denise Carroll Foy (born September 25, 1981) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a public defender by occupation. Carroll Foy was elected to represent Virginia's 2nd House of Delegates district in 2017, which covers parts of Prince William County and Stafford County in Northern Virginia. In December 2020, she resigned from the House of Delegates, in order to focus on her campaign for Governor of Virginia in 2021. She lost in the Democratic primary, placing second behind Terry McAuliffe. She was the 2023 Democratic nominee for State Senate in Virginia's 33rd Senate district, winning the race with nearly 63% of the vote.

Early life and education

Jennifer Carroll Foy was born and grew up in Petersburg, Virginia. Raised by her grandmother, she graduated from Petersburg High School, where she participated in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. She received her bachelor's degree from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 2003. Part of the third class of female cadets to attend the university, she received a full scholarship. Carroll Foy received her master's degree from Virginia State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego.

Career

After graduating from law school, Carroll Foy spent time teaching and worked in Los Angeles as a litigation associate. She moved back to Virginia and opened a private practice that focused on criminal defense.

In February 2017, Carroll Foy entered the race for the Second District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. In her 2017 campaign, Carroll Foy ran on expanding Medicaid, raising the minimum wage, increasing teacher pay, and criminal justice reform. In November 2017, Carroll Foy beat Republican Mike Makee, and became delegate of Virginia's Second district.

In the House of Delegates, Carroll Foy sat on the Courts of Justice, Finance, and Public Safety Committees.

In 2020, Carroll Foy filed paperwork to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election. On December 8, 2020, she announced plans to resign from the House of Delegates in order to focus full-time on her gubernatorial campaign. Her resignation came into effect on December 12, 2020. She, like fellow candidate Jennifer McClellan, would've been the first female governor of Virginia, the second African-American governor after Douglas Wilder, and first African-American female governor of the United States if elected. However, former governor Terry McAuliffe was renominated in the Democratic primary, instead.

In 2023, she was elected to the Virginia State Senate, defeating Republican Michael Van Meter with nearly 63% of the vote.

Political positions

Healthcare

Carroll Foy voted to pass Medicaid expansion in the General Assembly in March 2018, expanding health insurance coverage for 400,000 Virginians.

Women's rights

Carroll Foy proposed and passed the Equal Rights Amendment, making Virginia the 38th state to ratify the constitutional amendment.

Redistricting

Carroll Foy supports third-party, commission-drawn legislative maps but opposed the amendment to the state constitution as proposed in 2020, saying she felt it was wrong to inscribe a “substandard” proposal in the constitution.

Labor

Carroll Foy has been an advocate for paid family and medical leave for all workers.

Infrastructure

Carroll Foy supports efforts to expand broadband access, particularly to southwest Virginia.

Environment and climate change

Carroll Foy was a chief co-patron of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which aims to shift Virginia's energy reliance to solely renewable sources over the next few decades

Personal life

She is married to Jeffrey Foy, whom she met at VMI. In July 2017, she gave birth to twin boys.

Electoral history