Charniele Herring


Charniele LeRhonda Herring is an American politician. She has served in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2009, representing the 46th district, made up of portions of the city of Alexandria and Fairfax County, near Washington, D.C. Herring is a member of the Democratic Party. She has been the House Democratic Caucus Chair since 2015 and in December 2012, she was the first African-American to be elected chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Personal life, non-political career

Herring was born in the Dominican Republic. She had a parent who served in the United States Army, and traveled frequently as a child. When she was 16 years old, her mother was laid off, and she lived in a homeless shelter for six months.
Herring studied for three years with the Virginia Ballet School and Company. She earned a B.A. in economics from George Mason University in 1993 and a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 1997.
Herring was a VISTA volunteer.

Political career

At age 13, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, Herring testified before a government commission about health care coverage for military dependent children.
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed Herring to the state's Council on the Status of Women. In 2006, she attended the Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia's Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Virginia House of Delegates

Delegate Brian Moran resigned his House seat on December 12, 2008 to spend full-time on his 2009 campaign for governor. Herring immediately announced her candidacy for the vacancy. In a caucus on December 16, Herring won the Democratic nomination, defeating Ariel Gonzalez, director of governmental affairs for the American College of Radiology, 191–43. In the special election on January 13, 2009, she defeated Republican nominee Joe Murray, an aide to Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina by 16 votes. Murray requested a recount, which was resolved in Herring's favor; she was sworn in on January 26.
Herring was the first African-American woman ever elected to represent Northern Virginia in the General Assembly.
Herring serves as the chair of the Courts of Justice Committee and as a member of the Rules committee and Joint Rules Subcommittee.

Electoral history