The Virginia State Senate seat left by Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, will not be filled before the legislators address the Medicaid debate at the end of September, reports The Richmond Times-Dispatch. The date for the election for Marsh’s seat has been set as November 4, the same date of the general election.
The decision of the date of the election was left to President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Sen. Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico. This decision means that Republicans will hold on to their majority advantage when it comes time for the Medicaid debate, even if a Democrat wins the special election in August to fill the vacated seat left by Sen. Phillip P. Puckett, D-Russell.
After 22 years in the state senate Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed Marsh as a commissioner on the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Del. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg, a former mayor of Petersburg and 10-year member of the House of Delegates, has already announced that she will enter the race to replace Marsh as the representative of Virginia’s 16th Senatorial District.
“It would be an honor to partner with Senator Donald McEachin as a second voice for the city of Richmond and to continue serving these other five localities [counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Prince George; the cities of Hopewell and Petersburg] that make up the 16th Senatorial District,” Dance said,
Both parties have an August 15 deadline to choose a candidate for Marsh’s seat.
The Virginia Vibe 