Ralph Northam

Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the U . Army Medical Corps from 1984 to 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 40th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018 before winning the governorship against the Republican nominee Ed Gillespie in the 2017 election. Prohibited by the Virginia Constitution from running for a consecutive term, Northam left office in January 2022 and was succeeded by Republican Glenn Youngkin. As governor, Northam's most notable accomplishments included expanding Medicaid coverage as allowed under the Affordable Care Act, abolishing the death penalty, legalizing marijuana, and raising the minimum wage. Northam also led the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he was the only governor in the United States who was a licensed doctor. Most of the accomplishments of his tenure were overshadowed by the 2019 Virginia political crisis, when it was revealed in early 2019 that he had appeared in blackface published in his college yearbooks. Despite the scandal and pleas from black leaders to resign, Northam refused to do so and enjoyed wide popularity amongst Virginia voters through the rest of his term in office. Northam's concurrent political "rebirth" was celebrated in the mainstream media. Northam is currently a neurologist at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk where his clinical interests are epilepsy and neuromuscular disorders.

Infobox

Lieutenant

Justin Fairfax

Preceded by

Nick Rerras

Succeeded by

Lynwood Lewis

Governor

Terry McAuliffe

Born

Ralph Shearer Northam (1959-09-13) September 13, 1959 Nassawadox, Virginia, U .

Party

Democratic

Spouse

Pamela Thomas (m. 1986)

Children

Education

Virginia Military Institute (BS) Eastern Virginia Medical School (MD)

Allegiance

United States

Branch/service

United States Army

Years of service

1984–1992

Rank

Major

Unit

Army Medical Corps

Tables

Virginia State Senate 6th district election, 2007 · Electoral history

Majority

Party

Majority

Party

2,808

Candidate

8 %

Votes

–14

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

31,851

Candidate

100 %

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ralph Northam	17,307	54 %	+16
	Republican	Nick Rerras	14,499	45 %	–16
	Write-ins		45	0 %	+0
Majority			2,808	8 %	–14
Total votes			31,851	100 %

Virginia State Senate 6th district election, 2011 · Electoral history

Majority

Party

Majority

Party

3,984

Candidate

13 %

Votes

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

29,259

Candidate

100 %

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ralph Northam	16,606	56 %	+2
	Republican	Benito Loyola Jr.	12,622	43 %	–3
	Write-ins		31	0 %	<–0
Majority			3,984	13 %	+4
Total votes			29,259	100 %

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Democratic primary, 2013 · Electoral history

Majority

Party

Majority

Party

12,096

Candidate

8 %

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

144,856

Candidate

100 %

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ralph Northam	78,476	54 %
	Democratic	Aneesh Chopra	66,380	45 %
Majority			12,096	8 %
Total votes			144,856	100 %

Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2013 · Electoral history

Majority

Party

Majority

Party

232,898

Candidate

10 %

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

2,200,884

Candidate

100 %

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ralph Northam	1,213,155	55 %	+11
	Republican	E. W. Jackson	980,257	44 %	–12
	Write-ins		7,472	0 %	+0
Majority			232,898	10 %
Total votes			2,200,884	100 %

Virginia Governor Democratic primary election, 2017 · Electoral history

Majority

Party

Majority

Party

64,183

Candidate

11 %

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

542,615

Candidate

100 %

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ralph Northam	303,399	55 %
	Democratic	Tom Perriello	239,216	44 %
Majority			64,183	11 %
Total votes			542,615	100 %

References

The board's five seats reserved for state cabinet members are to be filled by the Secretaries of the Commonwealth, Comme
Although the transferred detainees were isolated from the rest of the population at the Farmville Detention Center for f
This law allows third-trimester abortions to be certified by a single physician if continued pregnancy is found to pose
Northam's full answer to the abortion question during the interview with NBC4 reporter Julie Carey, WTOP-FM, on January
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ralph_Northam#Abortion1
Virginia law does not classify walking an animal on a leash as tethering.
Except for Clouded leopards, which are unregulated by the bill.
This identification requirement used racially offensive terms and had remained in effect until October 2019, when it was
Although Northam's gubernatorial predecessor, Terry McAuliffe, shared Northam's stance on ending this practice, the Repu
This applies to some first-time offenders who are sentenced while under the age of twenty-one and who are not convicted
Due to legal ambiguity predating Fishback v. Commonwealth, between 1995 and 2000, some juries in Virginia were told abou
Kansas has the most restrictive compassionate release policy for terminally ill patients in the country; the Kansas poli
Jury sentencing is also used in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas but is not mandatory in those states.
This bill ensures that prosecutors cannot dismiss charges for reasons of bribery or bias against victims.
Under a separate law, anyone in Virginia can still be charged with a misdemeanor for public intoxication, but violation
Northam's Democratic primary opponent, Tom Perriello, had adopted the same position one day before Northam.
Northam's original proposal for G3, made during his gubernatorial campaign, would have required participating students t
Under President Trump, the executive branch of the federal government issued a ban against trigger activators. Several s
Military service members are exempted from the bill.
Protection from employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was first introduced in the executive branc
This bill tasked the Virginia Department of Education with setting statewide standards for the treatment of transgender