4th District Candidate Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D)
Campaign Website: https://jennifermcclellan.com/
Candidate Questionnaire from VPM:
Q: Where in Virginia do you live?
Richmond
Q: What is your current job? How would you describe your career?
I serve as the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 4th Congressional District. Before Congress, I spent 18 years in the Virginia General Assembly, first in the House of Delegates, then the State Senate, passing more than 370 pieces of legislation including landmark laws on health care, voting rights, and clean energy. I also spent 25 years as a communications lawyer.
Q: List any college degrees or professional certifications you hold.
B.A. from the University of Richmond; J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Q: Have you served in an elected or appointed political office before? When, where and in what position?
I served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2006 to 2017, then in the Senate of Virginia from 2017 to 2023. I was elected to the U.S. House in a 2023 special election, becoming the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
Q: Please describe any ways you’ve used generative artificial intelligence in your campaign.
I have not used generative artificial intelligence in my campaign.
Q: What should constituents know about you?
I got interested in government and politics from hearing my parents tell stories of growing up during the Great Depression in the Jim Crow South. Their stories sparked a love of history, which has taught me that at its best, government is a force for helping people and solving problems; At its worst, government is a force for oppressing some for the benefit of few.
I started volunteering on campaigns at 18 to elect candidates who would focus on helping people and solving problems. Eventually, I ran for office to do just that.
As a daughter, wife, and mother, I bring a unique perspective to the policy-making table while trying to bring that table into the communities I represent to bring more perspectives to make the best public policy possible to address the needs of my constituents.
Q: In a word or phrase, tell us: What do you think your race is about?
As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary idea that the power of government derives from the people to secure their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we must ensure that the perspectives of all the people are heard. I take seriously my oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the rights of every single constituent thereunder.
We stand at a critical moment when the American dream remains out of reach for too many people struggling with a cost of living crisis that the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have not only failed to address, but have made worse.
I will continue fighting to ensure every Virginian can access the health care they need, when they need it without going bankrupt, that we adopt energy policies that meet demand without overburdening consumers, communities and our environment, and that we build an economy that leaves no community behind.
Q: How should the federal government address the ongoing affordability challenges?
We must reverse the Trump administration tariffs that have raised the cost of everything from gas to groceries, housing to healthcare, toys to technology, and beyond. We must reverse the largest cuts to our health care and food security safety nets in American history in the Big Ugly Law (HR1) and reinstate the enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act in order to reverse the health care crisis that threatens over 300,000 Virginians.
I recently unveiled my All American Family Agenda, a legislative framework designed for a post-HR1 world, where the Big Ugly Law’s cuts are reversed. The agenda centers on two pillars and involves (1) supporting family formation by strengthening women’s choice and family planning freedom, improving maternal health nationwide, and supporting every path to parenthood and (2) strengthening family well-being by making family life economically accessible and supporting working parents and caregivers.
We must invest in clean and renewable energy generation, which is the fastest, cleanest and cheapest energy we can get on the grid, and reinstate energy efficiency programs that help reduce demand. Data centers and other large load customers must pay their fair share for the energy they consume.
Q: What kinds of proposals should Congress consider as data centers become more common nationwide?
American households have on average 21 devices connected to the internet, from smartphones and tablets to TVs, thermostats and even refrigerators. This number will only grow as AI becomes more intertwined in our daily lives. As a result, data centers could account for up to 12% of U.S. electricity use within a few years.
Today, the costs of that growth overburdens consumers and small businesses instead of the data centers that drive the demand.
That is why I have co-sponsored the Ratepayer Protection Act to requires state utility regulators to ensure that data centers pay for the costs of building new power generation, transmission lines, and other upgrades to serve large-load customers, such as data centers, as the Virginia State Corporation Commission did by establishing a new rate class for hyperscale data centers in Dominion’s service territory.
I also have co-sponsored theLoad Forecasting Enhancement Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state utility commissions to better coordinate load forecasting to prevent underbuilding infrastructure or overcharging consumers for unneeded capacity. And I have co-sponsored the Power to the People Act, which would create clear FERC guidelines and rules ensuring that local communities do not bear the cost of data center build out.
Q: Do you support Congressman Hakeem Jeffries or Congressman Mike Johnson for House speaker?
I support Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker of the House.
Q: Where do you stand on abortion, and do you believe there’s a role for federal legislation in regulating abortion?
I have fought for the past 20 years for reproductive freedom that supports the fundamental decisions of when, whether and how to become a parent and reproductive health decisions to be left to individuals, with providers, and anyone they chose to bring into the conversation, without government interference.
As a state legislator, I passed the Reproductive Health Protection Act to make Virginia the first state in the South to remove medically unnecessary barriers to abortion access. And I carried legislation to enshrine reproductive freedom into the state constitution.
In Congress, as chair of the Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, I am continuing the fight for reproductive freedom nationwide.
Q: If elected, how would you use your position to help alleviate the housing crisis in your district, Virginia and nationally?
I will build on the success of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed this year to increase housing supply at lower costs, cut red tape on construction, and stop large institutional investors from buying up single-family homes.
I recently held a roundtable with Virginia housing advocates on what more needs to be done, and the issue boils down to the fact that construction costs have outpaced income for middle-class and lower-income households.
The federal government should take steps to lower construction costs and incentivize building more affordable housing units. Lowering housing costs is also part of my All-American Family Agenda — because family stability starts with an affordable place to live.
Q: How do you personally use artificial intelligence in your life? What specific regulations do you propose for companies producing AI?
AI has been integrated into just about every technology used today, from communications networks to healthcare, finance, education, and beyond. Unfortunately, Congress is years behind addressing AI. Rather than one AI policy, Congress must ensure that the policies enacted across every issue account for both human beings and AI.
For example, just as we protect critical infrastructure such as communications, national security, or financial services systems from cyberattacks from human beings, we must do the same for attacks from AI.
Specific to AI development, we must develop national data privacy standards that protect potentially sensitive personal information and give consumers meaningful control over how their data is collected, stored and shared. We must guard against algorithmic discrimination and establish strict testing, transparency, and accountability guardrails for high-impact automated systems.
Q: What is your stance on the United States’ foreign policy with Israel?
The United States and Israel have maintained a close alliance for decades, allowing for a strategic military and intelligence partnership. As with any ally and strategic partner, however, the U.S. has a responsibility to ensure Israel adheres to international humanitarian laws.
I fully support a two-state solution that allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live with dignity, security, and self-determination. As it has done so often in the past, the United States should help facilitate negotiations that end hostilities in the Middle East broadly, address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, end settler violence in the West Bank, and lay the groundwork for a broader peace agreement for both Israel and Palestine.
Q: What is your stance on the use of Flock or other automatic license plate readers in your district?
As a policy maker, I strive to keep communities safe without violating the civil rights and liberties protected by the U.S. Constitution. While technology can be a useful tool in legitimate law enforcement investigations, including counterterrorism and human trafficking, technologies like Flock collect significant amounts of information and should be carefully reviewed, with significant public input, before implementation.
Any use of these types of technologies must adhere to our constitutional principles and protections, including the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
As a state legislator, I supportedlegislation concerning the retention of surveillance video, including information collected by license plate readers. Virginia law now requires ALPR data to be destroyed after 21 days, with exceptions for ongoing investigations and other specified purposes.
Q: A hospital or multiple health care centers in your district are at risk of service cuts/closure due to Medicaid changes. How would you advocate for your district’s health and wellness?
As a state senator, I worked to expand Medicaid in 2018 to ensure that hundreds of thousands more Virginians could get the health care they needed without going bankrupt or driving hours to find it. We understood that Medicaid expansion particularly helped rural hospitals that operate on very thin margins to address the health care needs of smaller populations.
As a member of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee, I fought against the Medicaid cuts in the Republicans’ HR1 and advocated for extension of the enhanced premium tax credits under the ACA in a 26.5-hour hearing, telling stories of the 300,000 Virginians at risk of losing coverage under the largest cuts to Medicaid in American history and how those cuts would impact safety-net and rural hospitals and providers.
Over the past year, I have traveled across my District and the Commonwealth talking to patients, providers and communities about the impact the cuts have already had on the 100,000 Virginians prices out of the ACA marketplace when enhanced premium tax credits expired, the rural providers like Augusta Health and safety net providers like the Capital Area Health Network closing clinics and Centra Southside Community Hospital closing labor and delivery units or cutting other services as a direct result of the Medicaid cuts in HR1.
I amplify what I hear in committee hearings, on the House floor, and in my official communications to support why these cuts must be reversed as soon as possible before more damage can be done.
Q: Where do you stand on the pending Dominion Energy–NextEra merger?
My team and I are monitoring the merger proceedings at the State Corporation Commission and Federal Energy Regulation Commission as the record develops, and believe the merger should not be approved unless the record establishes that it will not harm customers, employees, the environment, or the reliability of the grid to meet the energy demands of the merged company’s service territory.
As a state legislator and member of Congress, I have focused on creating energy policies that meet growing energy demand affordably without overburdening communities and the environment. In my oversight capacity as a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee, I am focused on ensuring that FERC evaluates the proposed merger under its public interest standard consistent with those principles. I also encourage consumers and advocates to participate in the public comment and hearing process before both agencies.
Q: As a Virginian, what are your thoughts on Ballot Question 1?
I strongly endorse Ballot Question 1 and will campaign for it this fall.
As discussed above, I sponsored an earlier version of the constitutional amendment enshrining reproductive freedom in the Virginia Constitution as a state senator because I believe reproductive health decisions should be between patients and their providers, without interference from politicians.
The most fundamental parental right is the right to decide when, whether and how to become a parent, which this amendment will protect.
Q: As a Virginian, what are your thoughts on Ballot Question 2?
I strongly endorse Ballot Question 2 and will campaign for it this fall.
I believe in a fundamental right to marry that should be protected from any discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, or race. Virginians deserve to have their marriage recognized and treated equally under the law, regardless of who they love. This amendment finally removes discriminatory language struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges.
As a state legislator, I was proud to sponsor legislation repealing the statute banning interracial marriage struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia and vote to repeal Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Q: As a Virginian, what are your thoughts on Ballot Question 3?
I strongly endorse Ballot Question 3 and will campaign for it this fall.
From my first bill as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates to sponsoring the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, to now co-sponsoring the John Lewis Voter Advancement Act as a member of Congress, I have fought to protect the fundamental right to vote and remove barriers to exercising that right. In a government by, of and for the people, government reflects the perspective and meets the needs of the people who participate.
During Reconstruction, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments extended the ability to participate to my family. Yet, in the Jim Crow era, former Confederate states passed tactics such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and felony disenfranchisement laws as a backlash to that progress towards liberty and justice for all.
Today, most of those voter suppression tactics have been eliminated. Yet, Virginia remains the only state in which a person convicted of a felony can only have their rights restored by the governor after serving their sentence. I co-sponsored a similar constitutional amendment as a state legislator.
Q: How confident are you that the 2026 Virginia midterm elections will be free and fair?
I am confident that the Virginia Department of Elections and local electoral boards and registrars will conduct free and fair elections impartially. However, I am concerned that President Trump will continue his efforts to undermine confidence in the electoral system to justify passage of the SAVE America Act, a modern day poll tax and voter suppression tactic.
I am also concerned that the Trump administration will attempt to use the U.S. Postal Service to thwart vote by mail or the National Guard to intimidate voters. I encourage all Virginia voters to check their registration status and make a plan to vote early to ensure any problems casting your ballot can be identified and corrected before Election Day.
Q: Who won the 2020 presidential election?
Joe Biden won the 2020 election.