Jennifer Carroll Foy


Jennifer Carroll Foy is an American attorney and Democratic politician from Virginia. A public defender, she was elected in 2017 to represent Virginia's 2nd House of Delegates district, which encompasses Prince William County, Virginia, and Stafford County, Virginia in Northern Virginia. In April 2020, Foy filed paperwork to register a gubernatorial campaign committee to run for governor of Virginia in 2021. If elected, Foy would be the first female governor of Virginia and the first African-American female governor of the United States.

Early life and education

Foy was born and raised in Petersburg, Virginia, and graduated from Petersburg High School. She received her Bachelor's degree from the Virginia Military Institute. She was in the third class of female cadets to ever attend VMI, and received a full scholarship to attend the university. Foy received her Master's degree from Virginia State University, and a JD from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

Career

After graduating from law school, 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, Foy entered the race for the Second District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. In her 2017 campaign, Foy ran on expanding Medicaid, raising the minimum wage, increasing teacher pay, and criminal justice reform. In November 2017, Foy beat Republican Mike Makee, and became delegate of Virginia's Second district. In 2020, Foy filed paperwork to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election.
Foy has seats on the Courts of Justice; Finance; and Public Safety Committees.
In May 2020, Foy announced her run for governor of Virginia.

Issues

Healthcare

Foy voted to pass Medicaid expansion in the General Assembly in March 2018, expanding health care access to 400,000 Virginians.

Criminal Justice Reform

She is married to Jeffery Foy. In July 2017, she gave birth to twin boys.

Electoral history