Stephen Holliday Martin (born June 15, 1956) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1988–1994 and the Senate of Virginia from 1994–2016.
Electoral history
In 1987, Martin defeated incumbent Democrat Leslie Saunders for the 67th District House of Delegates seat, 51%-49%.[1] In 1989, Saunders challenged Martin for the seat, but Martin won 55%-45%.[2] Due to redistricting, Martin was redrawn into the 27th District in 1991, and won the House of Delegates seat unopposed,[3] and was re-elected in 1993.[4] In February 1994, Martin won a special election to the state Senate in the 11th District after Robert Russell resigned after being convicted of embezzlement.[5][6] He received 75% of the vote in a four-way race.[6] Martin was easily re-elected to the seat in 1995 (he was unopposed),[7] 1999 (won 65%-35%),[8] 2003 (unopposed),[9] 2007 (received 63% of the vote in a four-way race),[10] and 2011 (unopposed).[11]
Senator Martin announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 2013 in June 2012.[12] He was defeated at the 2013 state convention.
On June 9, 2015, in the Republican Primary for the District 11 State Senate Seat, Martin lost to Amanda Chase in a three-way race, with Barry Moore coming in last.[13]
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 25,269 | 94.70 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 1,414 | 5.30 | |
| Total votes | 255,826 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 16,481 | 62.75 | |
| Democratic | Alexander McMurtrie | 4,764 | 18.14 | |
| Independent | Hank Cook | 3,878 | 14.77 | |
| Independent | Roger Habeck | 1,135 | 4.32 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 6 | 0.02 | |
| Total votes | 26,264 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 18,702 | 97.27 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 524 | 2.73 | |
| Total votes | 19,226 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 17,716 | 64.54 | |
| Democratic | William Hastings | 9,689 | 35.30 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 45 | 0.16 | |
| Total votes | 27,450 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 28,693 | 99.41 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 170 | 0.59 | |
| Total votes | 28,863 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 14,305 | 74.76 | |
| Democratic | Alexander McMurtrie | 4,219 | 22.05 | |
| Independent | Thomas Jamerson | 452 | 2.36 | |
| Independent | Bradley Evans | 148 | 0.77 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 10 | 0.06 | |
| Total votes | 19,134 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 14,243 | 79.53 | |
| Independent | Bradley Evans | 3,655 | 20.41 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 11 | 0.06 | |
| Total votes | 17,909 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 8,465 | 99.28 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 61 | 0.72 | |
| Total votes | 8,526 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 11,178 | 55.27 | |
| Democratic | Leslie Saunders | 9,034 | 44.67 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 12 | 0.06 | |
| Total votes | 20,224 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Martin | 8,271 | 51.14 | |
| Democratic | Leslie Saunders | 6,872 | 48.82 | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 7 | 0.04 | |
| Total votes | 15,150 | 100 | ||
Memberships
Senator Martin serves as one of two Virginia state chairmen for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).[14][15]
Facebook comments on abortion
Martin made news in 2014 when he wrote a lengthy post on Facebook claiming that pregnant women are "hosts" who have no right to end their pregnancies via abortion. "Martin said that his words were taken out of context and that he was trying to describe the way abortion advocates see women."[16] He later edited the post to replace "host" with "bearer of the child."[17]
References
- ^ a b Candidate Data for 1987RVAHH67
- ^ a b Candidate Data for 1989RVAHH67
- ^ a b Candidate Data for 1991RVAHH27
- ^ a b Candidate Data for 1993RVAHH27
- ^ Virginia Elections and State Elected Officials Database Project – Election Dates, 1789-2007
- ^ a b c Candidate Data for 1994SVASS11
- ^ a b Candidate Data for 1995RVASS11
- ^ a b Candidate Data for 1999RVASS11
- ^ a b Senate of Virginia District #011
- ^ a b Candidate Data for 2007RVASS11
- ^ a b November 2011 General Election Official Results Archived 2013-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Virginia Sen. Stephen Martin plans run for lt. governor – Virginia Politics – The Washington Post
- ^ "Virginia Election Returns: Primary Night 2015". Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
- ^ "Progress|VA". Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
- ^ State Chairs – ALEC – American Legislative Exchange Council
- ^ "Va. state Sen. Stephen H. Martin criticized for 'host' comment in antiabortion Facebook post".
- ^ Bassett, Laura (2014-02-24). "Virginia Republican Says A Pregnant Woman Is Just A 'Host,' Though 'Some Refer To Them As Mothers'". The Huffington Post.
- "Senator Stephen H. Martin; Republican – District 11". Senate of Virginia. Archived from the original on 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- "Past member search; Stephen Martin". Virginia House of Delegates. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- Steve Martin – Virginia State Senator Colonial Heights Chesterfield (Constituent/campaign website)
External links
- "Senator Stephen Martin". Richmond Sunlight.
- "Stephen H Martin". Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- "Virginia State Board of Elections; Election Information; Election Results". Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- Appearances on C-SPAN