Mark Obenshain: Difference between revisions

Mark Obenshain
Mark Obenshain
Member of the Virginia Senate
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 14, 2004
Preceded by	Kevin Miller
Constituency	26th District (2004–2024) ; 2nd District (since 2024)
Personal details
Born	Mark Dudley Obenshain; June 11, 1962 (age 62); Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Suzanne Speas
Parent	Richard D. Obenshain (father);
Relatives	Kate Obenshain (sister)
Education	Virginia Tech (BA); Washington and Lee University (JD)
Website	Official website

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Mark Dudley Obenshain (born June 11, 1962) is an American attorney and politician. He is currently serving as a member of the Senate of Virginia from Harrisonburg. He is a member of the Republican Party. He took office in 2004. At the 2013 state Republican convention he became the Republican nominee in the 2013 election for Attorney General of Virginia.^[1]

His father, Richard Obenshain, was an attorney, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, and the original Republican nominee for the 1978 senate election in Virginia before his death from a plane crash prior to it.^[2]

Political career

Obenshain has accumulated a conservative voting record since his election to the Shenandoah Valley's 26th state senate district in 2003. Obenshain's 2003 victory was a 68-32% win over former Harrisonburg mayor Rodney Eagle for an open seat

In the Senate, Obenshain is a member of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources, Courts of Justice, Local Government, and the Privileges and Elections Committee. For fundraising and organizational purposes he is a member of the conservative Republican Senate Victory PAC. In 2007, Obenshain easily won reelection over Democrat Maxine Hope Roles 70-29 percent. Obenshain ran for re-election unopposed in 2011. Obenshain was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of Virginia, losing to Democrat Mark Herring in the 2013 Election and formally conceding on December 18.

Miscarriage reporting bill

During his run for attorney general in 2013, Obenshain was criticized for a bill he introduced in 2009 which would have required women who had miscarriages without medical attendance to report it to authorities within 24 hours.^[3] Obenshain explained that he introduced the bill in response to the case of a Virginia woman who threw her dead newborn baby's body into the trash, and was trying to create a bill to allow law enforcement to prosecute a woman in that circumstance. However, the legislation that emerged "was far too broad, and would have had ramifications that neither he nor the Commonwealth's attorney's office ever intended," and after being unable to resolve the problem of women potentially being prosecuted for miscarriages, he withdrew the bill and stated that he is "strongly against imposing any added burden for women who suffer a miscarriage, and that was never the intent of the legislation."^[4]

The bill, as proposed by Obenshain, would have required that when a fetal death occurred without medical attendance upon the mother at or after the delivery or abortion, the mother or someone acting on her behalf, within twenty-four hours, report the fetal death, location of the remains, and identity of the mother to the local or state police or sheriff's department of the city or county where the fetal death occurred. The bill also specified that no one should remove, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any remains without the express authorization of law-enforcement officials or the medical examiner, and that a violation of the statute would constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.^[5]

Personal life

Obenshain is married to Suzanne Speas Obenshain and is the founder of the Obenshain Law Group.^[6] Obenshain is a member of First Presbyterian Church and a former director of the Harrisonburg Rotary Club. Prior to joining the Senate, Obenshain was also a member of James Madison University's Board of Visitors and the Governor's Advisory Commission on Welfare Reform.

Obenshain studied economics and history at Virginia Tech then attended Washington and Lee School of Law. Obenshain is the son of former Virginia Republican Committee Chairman Richard D. Obenshain and the brother of another past chairman, Kate Obenshain.

References

^ Schmidt, Markus and Jim Nolan (2013-05-18). "Virginia GOP convention: Obenshain nominee for AG". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
^ "Richard D. Obenshain". www.lva.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
^ McDonough, Katie (May 20, 2013). "GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police". Salon.
^ "Mark Obenshain, Virginia Attorney General Candidate, Explains Controversial Miscarriage Bill". Huffingtonpost.com. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
^ "LIS > Bill Tracking > SB962 > 2009 session". Leg1.state.va.us. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
^ "Attorney Profiles".

External links

Official website
Senator Mark D. Obenshain at the Senate of Virginia
Mark D Obenshain at the Virginia Public Access Project
Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) at Sunlight Richmond
Appearances on C-SPAN

Senate of Virginia
Preceded by Kevin Miller	Member of the Virginia Senate from the 26th district 2004–2024	Succeeded by Ryan McDougle
Preceded by Mamie Locke	Member of the Virginia Senate from the 2nd district 2024–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Ken Cuccinelli	Republican nominee for Attorney General of Virginia 2013	Succeeded by John Adams

[tdconv2013-1] Schmidt, Markus and Jim Nolan (2013-05-18). "Virginia GOP convention: Obenshain nominee for AG". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2013-05-18.

[2] "Richard D. Obenshain". www.lva.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-03.

[3] McDonough, Katie (May 20, 2013). "GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police". Salon.

[4] "Mark Obenshain, Virginia Attorney General Candidate, Explains Controversial Miscarriage Bill". Huffingtonpost.com. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2013-11-16.

[5] "LIS > Bill Tracking > SB962 > 2009 session". Leg1.state.va.us. Retrieved 2013-11-16.

[6] "Attorney Profiles".

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|American politician from Virginia}}
 {{Infobox officeholder
-|name=Mark Obenshain
+| name                = Mark Obenshain
+| image               = Mark Obenshain.jpg
-|state_senate2=Virginia
+| office              = Member of the [[Virginia Senate]]
-|district2=26th
+| term_start          = January 14, 2004
-|term_start2=August 2004
+| term_end            =
-|term_end2=January 12, 2014
-| predecessor2 = Kevin G. Miller
+| predecessor         = Kevin Miller
+| successor           =
-|successor2=
+| constituency        = [[Virginia's 26th Senate district|26th]] District (2004–2024) <br/> [[Virginia's 2nd Senate district|2nd]] District (since 2024)
-| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|6|11|}}
+| birth_name          = Mark Dudley Obenshain
-| birth_place = [[Richmond, Virginia]]
+| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1962|6|11}}
-| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
+| birth_place         = [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], [[Virginia]], [[United States|U.S.]]
-| spouse = Suzanne Speas Obenshain
+| death_date          =
-| children =
+| death_place         =
-| residence = [[Harrisonburg, Virginia]]
+| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
-| alma_mater = [[Virginia Tech]]<br/>[[Washington and Lee University School of Law]]
+| spouse              = Suzanne Speas
-| profession = [[Lawyer]]
+| father              = [[Richard D. Obenshain]]
-| committees = Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; Courts of Justice; Local Government; Privileges and Elections
+| relatives           = [[Kate Obenshain]] (sister)
-| religion = [[Presbyterian]]
+| education           = [[Virginia Tech]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}<br>[[Washington and Lee University]] {{small|([[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}
-| website = [http://markobenshain.com/ markobenshain.com]
+| website             = {{URL|markobenshain.com|Official website}}
 }}
-'''Mark D. Obenshain''' (born June 11, 1962) is currently the Attorney General-Elect from the Commonwealth of Virginia. A [[Republican Party of Virginia|Republican]], he took office in 2004 as a state senator. At the [[Republican Party of Virginia convention, 2013|2013 state Republican convention]] he became the Republican nominee in the [[Virginia elections, 2013|2013 election]] for [[Attorney General of Virginia]]. <ref "tdconv2013">{{cite news | author = Schmidt, Markus and Jim Nolan | title = Virginia GOP convention: Obenshain nominee for AG | work = Richmond Times-Dispatch | url = http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/article_ff488808-bfc9-11e2-87fd-001a4bcf6878.html | date=2013-05-18 | accessdate=2013-05-18}}</ref>
+'''Mark Dudley Obenshain''' (born June 11, 1962) is an American [[Attorney at law|attorney]] and [[politician]]. He is currently serving as a member of the [[Senate of Virginia]] from [[Harrisonburg, Virginia|Harrisonburg]]. He is a member of the [[Republican Party of Virginia|Republican Party]]. He took office in 2004. At the [[2013 Republican Party of Virginia convention|2013 state Republican convention]] he became the Republican nominee in the [[2013 Virginia Attorney General election|2013 election]] for [[Attorney General of Virginia]].<ref name="tdconv2013">{{cite news | author = Schmidt, Markus and Jim Nolan | title = Virginia GOP convention: Obenshain nominee for AG | work = Richmond Times-Dispatch | url = http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/article_ff488808-bfc9-11e2-87fd-001a4bcf6878.html | date=2013-05-18 | accessdate=2013-05-18}}</ref>
+His father, [[Richard D. Obenshain|Richard Obenshain]], was an attorney, chairman of the [[Republican Party of Virginia|Virginia Republican Party]], and the original Republican nominee for the [[1978 United States Senate election in Virginia|1978 senate election in Virginia]] before his death from a plane crash prior to it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Richard D. Obenshain |url=https://www.lva.virginia.gov/exhibits/political/richard_obenshain.htm |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=www.lva.virginia.gov}}</ref>
 ==Political career==
-Obenshain has accumulated a [[conservative]] voting record since his election to the [[Shenandoah Valley]]'s 26th state senate district in 2003. Obenshain's 2003 victory was a lopsided 68-32% win over former Harrisonburg mayor Rodney Eagle for an open seat.
+Obenshain has accumulated a [[conservative]] voting record since his election to the [[Shenandoah Valley]]'s 26th state senate district in 2003. Obenshain's 2003 victory was a 68-32% win over former Harrisonburg mayor Rodney Eagle for an open seat
 In the Senate, Obenshain is a member of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources, Courts of Justice, Local Government, and the Privileges and Elections Committee. For fundraising and organizational purposes he is a member of the conservative Republican Senate Victory PAC.
-In 2007, Obenshain easily won reelection over Democrat Maxine Hope Roles 70-29 percent.  Obenshain ran for re-election unopposed in 2011.
+In 2007, Obenshain easily won reelection over Democrat Maxine Hope Roles 70-29 percent.  Obenshain ran for re-election unopposed in 2011. Obenshain was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of Virginia, losing to [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Mark Herring]] in the 2013 Election and formally conceding on December 18.
-Obenshain ran as the Republican nominee for Attorney General during the 2013 and was elected by less than 1,000 votes.  A recount will soon occur but it is expected that he will win this recount.
 ===Miscarriage reporting bill===
-During his run for attorney general in 2013, Obenshain was criticized for a bill he introduced in 2009 which would have required women who had [[miscarriage]]s without medical attendance to report it to authorities within 24 hours.<ref>{{cite news|last=McDonough|first=Katie|title=GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police|url=http://www.salon.com/2013/05/20/gop_attorney_general_candidate_tried_to_force_women_to_report_miscarriages_to_police/|newspaper=Salon|date=May 20, 2013}}</ref> Obenshain explained that he introduced the bill in response to the case of a Virginia woman who threw her dead newborn baby's body into the trash, and was trying to create a bill to allow law enforcement to prosecute a woman in that circumstance. However, the legislation that emerged "was far too broad, and would have had ramifications that neither he nor the Commonwealth's attorney's office ever intended," and after being unable to resolve the problem of women potentially being prosecuted for miscarriages, he withdrew the bill and stated that he is "strongly against imposing any added burden for women who suffer a miscarriage, and that was never the intent of the legislation."<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/mark-obenshain-miscarriage-bill_n_3307578.html Mark Obenshain, Virginia Attorney General Candidate, Explains Controversial Miscarriage Bill]</ref>
+During his run for attorney general in 2013, Obenshain was criticized for a bill he introduced in 2009 which would have required women who had [[miscarriage]]s without medical attendance to report it to authorities within 24 hours.<ref>{{cite news|last=McDonough|first=Katie|title=GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police|url=http://www.salon.com/2013/05/20/gop_attorney_general_candidate_tried_to_force_women_to_report_miscarriages_to_police/|newspaper=Salon|date=May 20, 2013}}</ref> Obenshain explained that he introduced the bill in response to the case of a Virginia woman who threw her dead newborn baby's body into the trash, and was trying to create a bill to allow law enforcement to prosecute a woman in that circumstance. However, the legislation that emerged "was far too broad, and would have had ramifications that neither he nor the Commonwealth's attorney's office ever intended," and after being unable to resolve the problem of women potentially being prosecuted for miscarriages, he withdrew the bill and stated that he is "strongly against imposing any added burden for women who suffer a miscarriage, and that was never the intent of the legislation."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/mark-obenshain-miscarriage-bill_n_3307578.html |title=Mark Obenshain, Virginia Attorney General Candidate, Explains Controversial Miscarriage Bill |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=2013-05-20 |accessdate=2013-11-16}}</ref>
+The bill, as proposed by Obenshain, would have required that when a fetal death occurred without medical attendance upon the mother at or after the delivery or abortion, the mother or someone acting on her behalf, within twenty-four hours, report the fetal death, location of the remains, and identity of the mother to the local or state police or sheriff's department of the city or county where the fetal death occurred. The bill also specified that no one should remove, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any remains without the express authorization of law-enforcement officials or the medical examiner, and that a violation of the statute would constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+sum+SB962 |title=LIS > Bill Tracking > SB962 > 2009 session |publisher=Leg1.state.va.us |date= |accessdate=2013-11-16}}</ref>
-The text of the bill proposed by Obenshain is as follows:
-Fetal deaths; report when unattended; penalty.  Requires that when a fetal death occurs without medical attendance upon the mother at or after the delivery or abortion, the mother or someone acting on her behalf, within 24 hours, report the fetal death, location of the remains, and identity of the mother to the local or state police or sheriff's department of the city or county where the fetal death occurred. The bill also specifies that no one shall remove, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any remains without the express authorization of law-enforcement officials or the medical examiner, and that a violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. <ref>[http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+sum+SB962]</ref>
 ==Personal life==
-Obenshain is married to Suzanne Speas Obenshain and is a partner at the Lenhart-Obenshain law firm. Obenshain is a member of First [[Presbyterian]] Church and a former director of the Harrisonburg Rotary Club. Prior to joining the Senate, Obenshain was also a member of [[James Madison University]]'s Board of Visitors and the Governor's Advisory Commission on Welfare Reform.
+Obenshain is married to Suzanne Speas Obenshain and is the founder of the Obenshain Law Group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.obenshainlaw.com/Attorney-Profiles.aspx|title = Attorney Profiles}}</ref> Obenshain is a member of First [[Presbyterian]] Church and a former director of the Harrisonburg Rotary Club. Prior to joining the Senate, Obenshain was also a member of [[James Madison University]]'s Board of Visitors and the Governor's Advisory Commission on Welfare Reform.
-The [[Virginia Tech]] undergrad and [[Washington and Lee School of Law]] grad is the son of former Virginia Republican Committee Chairman [[Richard D. Obenshain]] and the brother of another past Chairman, [[Kate Obenshain]].
+Obenshain studied economics and history at [[Virginia Tech]] then attended [[Washington and Lee School of Law]]. Obenshain is the son of former Virginia Republican Committee Chairman [[Richard D. Obenshain]] and the brother of another past chairman, [[Kate Obenshain]].
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
-*[http://markobenshain.com/ Mark Obenshain for Attorney General]
+* {{Official website|http://markobenshain.com/}}
-*[http://apps.lis.virginia.gov/sfb1/Senate/senatorwebprofile.aspx?id=291 Senator Mark D. Obenshain] at the Senate of Virginia
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130513141309/http://apps.lis.virginia.gov/sfb1/Senate/senatorwebprofile.aspx?id=291 Senator Mark D. Obenshain] at the Senate of Virginia
+* [http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/home/17230 Mark D Obenshain] at the Virginia Public Access Project
-*{{GovLinks | ballot = Mark_Obenshain | nndb = | votesmart = 50954 | politifact = mark-obenshain | followthemoney = 7176 | worldcat = | cspan = | imdb = | bloomberg = }}
-*[http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/home/17230 Mark D Obenshain] at the Virginia Public Access Project
+* [http://www.richmondsunlight.com/legislator/mdobenshain/ Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg)] at Sunlight Richmond
+*{{C-SPAN|115693}}
-*[http://www.richmondsunlight.com/legislator/mdobenshain/ Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg)] at Sunlight Richmond
+{{s-start}}
+{{s-par|us-va-sen}}
+{{s-bef|before=Kevin Miller}}
+{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Virginia Senate]]<br>from the [[Virginia's 26th Senate district|26th]] district|years=2004–2024}}
+{{s-aft|after=[[Ryan McDougle]]}}
+|-
+{{s-bef|before=[[Mamie Locke]]}}
+{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Virginia Senate]]<br>from the [[Virginia's 2nd Senate district|2nd]] district|years=2024–present}}
+{{s-inc}}
+|-
+{{s-ppo}}
+{{s-bef|before=[[Ken Cuccinelli]]}}
+{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Attorney General of Virginia]]|years=[[2013 Virginia Attorney General election|2013]]}}
+{{s-aft|after=[[John Donley Adams|John Adams]]}}
+{{s-end}}
 {{Senate of Virginia}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Obenshain, Mark}}
-{{Persondata
-|NAME=Obenshain, Mark D.
-|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
-|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Virginia Politician
-|DATE OF BIRTH=1962-06-11
-|PLACE OF BIRTH=Richmond, Virginia, United States
-|DATE OF DEATH=
-|PLACE OF DEATH=
-}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Obenshain, Mark D.}}
 [[Category:1962 births]]
-[[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:American Presbyterians]]
+[[Category:Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia]]
+[[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:People from Harrisonburg, Virginia]]
+[[Category:Politicians from Richmond, Virginia]]
+[[Category:Republican Party Virginia state senators]]
 [[Category:Virginia lawyers]]
-[[Category:Virginia Republicans]]
-[[Category:Virginia State Senators]]
 [[Category:Virginia Tech alumni]]
 [[Category:Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni]]
+[[Category:21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly]]

v t e Members of the Senate of Virginia
163rd General Assembly (2024−2026) President of the Senate Winsome Sears (R) President pro tempore Louise Lucas (D) Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D) Minority Leader Ryan McDougle (R)
▌Timmy French (R) ▌Mark Obenshain (R) ▌Chris Head (R) ▌David Suetterlein (R) ▌Travis Hackworth (R) ▌Todd Pillion (R) ▌Bill Stanley (R) ▌Mark Peake (R) ▌Tammy Brankley Mulchi (R) ▌John McGuire (R) ▌Creigh Deeds (D) ▌Glen Sturtevant (R) ▌Lashrecse Aird (D) ▌Lamont Bagby (D) ▌Ghazala Hashmi (D) ▌Schuyler VanValkenburg (D) ▌Emily Jordan (R) ▌Louise Lucas (D) ▌Christie Craig (R) ▌Bill DeSteph (R) ▌Angelia Williams Graves (D) ▌Aaron Rouse (D) ▌Mamie Locke (D) ▌Danny Diggs (R) ▌Richard Stuart (R) ▌Ryan McDougle (R) ▌Tara Durant (R) ▌Bryce Reeves (R) ▌Jeremy McPike (D) ▌Danica Roem (D) ▌Russet Perry (D) ▌Vacant ▌Jennifer Carroll Foy (D) ▌Scott Surovell (D) ▌Dave Marsden (D) ▌Stella Pekarsky (D) ▌Saddam Azlan Salim (D) ▌Jennifer Boysko (D) ▌Adam Ebbin (D) ▌Barbara Favola (D)
▌Democratic (20) ▌Republican (19) ▌Vacant (1) Virginia General Assembly House Senate List of past Assemblies