Sam Rasoul

Sam Rasoul (born June 30, 1981) is an American politician. A Democrat, Rasoul was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in January 2014.[1] He is the one of two Muslim members of the Virginia General Assembly.[1] He represents the 11th District, which is made up of part of the City of Roanoke.

Sam Rasoul
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 11th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2014
Preceded byOnzlee Ware
Personal details
Born
Salam Rasoul

(1981-06-30) June 30, 1981
Warren, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Layaly Rasoul
Children3
ResidenceRoanoke, Virginia
EducationRoanoke College (BBA)
Hawaii Pacific University (MBA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Political career

Rasoul first ran for elected office in 2008 when he challenged incumbent Republican Bob Goodlatte for Virginia's 6th Congressional seat. Rasoul earned 36% to Goodlatte's 61%.[2]

Rasoul was elected in a special election held on January 7, 2014. The special election was held to fill the vacancy created by the resignation, in November 2013, of Delegate Onzlee Ware.[3] After winning the Democratic primary by 44 votes, Rasoul received nearly 70% of the vote over his Republican opponent Octavia Johnson in the general election.[4] He was inducted into office on January 8, 2014.[5]

In September 2016 he initiated House Joint Resolution 541 to the Virginia House of Delegates, a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution for "top two open primaries" for various Virginia elections, in which candidates from opposing parties would run on one ballot.[6] The top two candidates in the proposed public primaries would subsequently compete in traditional one-on-one runoffs in Virginia's general elections.[6]

Personal life

Rasoul was born in Warren, Ohio in 1981, the son of Palestinian immigrants.[7] He and his wife Layaly have three children.[8]

Electoral history
House of Delegates 11th District Special Election, 2014 [9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sam Rasoul 5,129 70.2%
Republican Octavia Lyvonne Johnson 2,166 29.6%
Write-in 14 0.2%
Total votes 7,309 100.00%
Democratic hold
House of Delegates 11th District Election, 2015[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sam Rasoul (inc.) 11,216 96.2%
Write-in 447 3.8%
Total votes 11,663 100.00%
Democratic hold
House of Delegates 11th District Election, 2017 [10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sam Rasoul (inc.) 15,667 96.93%
write-ins 496 3.07%
Total votes 16,163 100%
Democratic hold
House of Delegates 11th District Election, 2019 [11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sam Rasoul (inc.) 10,269 94.38%
write-ins 611 5.62%
Total votes 10,880 100%
Democratic hold
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References
  1. "Richmond Sunlight » Delegate Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke)". www.richmondsunlight.com. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  2. "House clerks's office" (PDF).
  3. Yoon, Erica (January 8, 2014). "Sam Rasoul easily takes Roanoke House of Delegates seat". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  4. Ballhous, Rebecca (January 8, 2014). "Special Election in Virginia: Another Cliffhanger". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  5. Sluss, Michael (January 8, 2014). "Rasoul goes to work in Richmond". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  6. LIS - Virginia's Legislative Information System (September 15, 2016). "2017 Session: HJ 541 Constitutional amendment; top two open primary election (first reference)". Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  7. "ColorsVA". colorsva.pub. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  8. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  9. "Candidate Profile - Sam Rasoul". Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  10. "2017 November General". Retrieved Jul 31, 2019.
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