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Janet Howell, longtime former state senator in Fairfax County, dies at 82

Published August 3, 2026 at 10:00AM

Virginia Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, watches the vote tally board during the Senate session at the state Capitol in Richmond, Va., March 7, 2020. Howell, the veteran Democratic Virginia state senator who co-chairs her chamber’s finance committee, announced Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, that she will not seek re-election. (via Steve Helber/Associated Press file)

Janet Howell, a former Democratic state senator who had represented parts of Fairfax County for decades, has died at age 82.

Howell was first elected to the Virginia Senate in 1991, taking office in 1992 as senator for the 32nd Senate District. The district included Reston, Tysons, Wolf Trap, northern Chantilly and portions of McLean and Arlington County. Before retiring on Jan. 10, 2024, Howell was the longest-serving woman in the state Senate alongside current President pro tempore Louise Lucas (D-18). When Democrats took control of the chamber in 2019, she was the first woman to chair the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

Judge blocks Virginia Democrats’ redistricting referendum two weeks before early voting

By Associated Press

Published February 20, 2026 at 8:30AM

The Virginia State Capitol building (file photo)

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia court on Thursday effectively blocked Democrats’ planned April voter referendum to redraw the state’s congressional maps, another potentially devastating blow to the party’s effort to pick up four more U.S. House seats in the national redistricting battle.

Proposed redistricting map splits Fairfax County into five Congressional districts

By Jared Serre

Published February 6, 2026 at 11:00AM

Del. Don Scott, speaker of the House of Delegates, at the inauguration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Jan. 17, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Virginia Democrats released their long-awaited redistricting proposal yesterday (Thursday) in a bid to expand the party’s presence in Congress while countering similar gerrymandering attempts by Republicans.

Party leaders rolled out a map that’s projected to give Democrats an advantage in 10 of Virginia’s 11 Congressional districts, and as expected, much of that comes at the expense of Northern Virginia — the bluest part of the state.