John Chapman "Chap" Petersen
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John Chapman Petersen (Democratic Party) (also known as Chap) was a member of the Virginia State Senate, representing District 34. He assumed office in 2008. He left office on January 10, 2024.
Petersen (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Virginia State Senate to represent District 37. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 20, 2023.
Petersen served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002 to 2006.
Biography
Petersen received a B.A. at Williams College and a J.D. at the University of Virginia. Petersen is an attorney.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:[email protected].
2023-2024
Petersen was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, Chair
- Education and Health Committee
- Finance and Appropriations Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
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2020-2021
Petersen was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, Chair
- Education and Health Committee
- Finance and Appropriations Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
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2019-2020
Petersen was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee
- Education and Health Committee
- Senate Courts of Justice Committee
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2016 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2016 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources |
| • Education and Health |
| • General Laws and Technology |
| • Rehabilitation and Social Services |
2015 legislative session
In the 2015 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources |
| • Education and Health |
| • General Laws and Technology |
| • Rehabilitation and Social Services |
2014 legislative session
In the 2014 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2014 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources |
| • General Laws and Technology |
| • Privileges and Elections |
2012-2013
In the 2012-2013 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources |
| • General Laws and Technology |
| • Privileges and Elections |
2010-2011
In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Petersen served on the following committees:
| Virginia committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources |
| • General Laws and Technology |
| • Privileges and Elections |
| • Transportation |
Issues
Ethics legislation
In January 2014, Petersen submitted legislation that would establish a state ethics commission. In an interview, Petersen said the commission "will be able to make recommendations for disciplinary proceedings against legislators found in violation of disclosure laws to their respective house, where members will vote on any disciplinary action." Petersen's legislation would further impose contribution and gift limits, ban use of private law firms for state business and end legislative exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act.[1]
Foreclosures
Petersen and Del. Bob Marshall sought to introduce legislation to start reforming and shedding more light on the foreclosure process.
"It would start to bring transparency to those who cut corners to make a profit," Marshall said.
In Virginia, once a foreclosure notice of sale is posted, a house can be sold at auction just 14 days later in some cases, although most foreclosure processes take more time.
"It's a very disorganized system," Petersen said. "I'm looking to standardize the process."
Petersen planned to introduce three bills. The bills aimed to extend the notice period for a foreclosure sale from two weeks to 30 days and make it illegal for loan servicers to fake signatures or documents in order to obtain an order of foreclosure. Petersen also wanted to created mandatory recording requirements in the land records of the county where the property is located for loans transferred from one lender to another.[2]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2023
See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2023
General election
General election for Virginia State Senate District 37
Saddam Salim defeated Ken Reid in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 37 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Saddam Salim (D)  | 68.7 | 40,947 |
 | Ken Reid (R) | 30.9 | 18,427 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 238 | ||
| Total votes: 59,612 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 37
Saddam Salim defeated incumbent John Chapman Petersen in the Democratic primary for Virginia State Senate District 37 on June 20, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Saddam Salim | 54.1 | 10,477 |
 | John Chapman Petersen | 45.9 | 8,880 | |
| Total votes: 19,357 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Ken Reid advanced from the Republican primary for Virginia State Senate District 37.
2019
See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2019
General election
General election for Virginia State Senate District 34
Incumbent John Chapman Petersen won election in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 34 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Chapman Petersen (D) | 91.2 | 44,058 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 8.8 | 4,245 | ||
| Total votes: 48,303 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
- See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2015
Elections for the Virginia State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 9, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 26, 2015.[3] Incumbent Chap Petersen was unopposed in the Democratic primary. No Republican candidates filed for election. Petersen was unchallenged in the general election.[4]
2011
- See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2011
On November 8, 2011, Petersen won re-election to District 34 of the Virginia State Senate. He was unchallenged in the August 23 primary and defeated Gerarda Culipher in the November 8 general election.[5]
| Virginia State Senate, District 34 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Chapman "Chap" Petersen Incumbent |
59.8% | 23,662 | |
| Republican | Gerarda Culipher | 40.2% | 15,933 | |
| Total Votes | 39,595 | |||
2007
- See also: Virginia State Senate elections, 2007
On Nov. 6, 2007, Petersen won election to the 34th District Seat in the Virginia State Senate, defeating opponent Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R).[6]
Petersen raised $1,522,069 for his campaign while Davis raised $1,589,670.[7]
| Virginia State Senate, District 34 (2007) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| John "Chap" Petersen (D)
|
25,513 | 55.33% | ||
| Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R) | 20,490 | 44.44% | ||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Chapman Petersen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Chapman Petersen did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2023
In 2023, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to February 25.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the manufacturing sector.
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 12.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to February 8.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 12. A special session was held from August 18 to November 9.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through February 24.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 10 through March 10. Special sessions were held from April 11 to May 30 and from August 30 to October 30.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through February 25.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 13 through March 11.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 14 to February 28, 2015.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 10.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 9 to February 25.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Virginia General Assembly was in regular session from January 11 to March 10.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Petersen was born in Washington, D.C. on March 27, 1968.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
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Footnotes
- ↑ WatchDog.org, "Bully for her: Sen. Howell is ready to oversee ethics reform," January 7, 2014
- ↑ "Lawmakers set out to reform quick foreclosures," Virginia Statehouse News, December 8, 2010
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2015 General election candidates," accessed August 21, 2015
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 6, 2007 General Election Official Results," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2007 Campaign contributions," accessed May 28, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Virginia State Senate District 34 2008-2024 |
Succeeded by Scott Surovell (D) |
