Among the several political races in Tuesday’s election across the nation, one stands out because of its historic and symbolic nature.
Lt. Gov.-elect Justin Fairfax was victorious, becoming the second African American politician in Virginia’s history to be elected to a statewide position.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity,” Fairfax said to a crowd of supporters at a victory party at George Mason University. “We are changing the course of history in this commonwealth.”
Last week, former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder—the first African American to be elected to a statewide position and the first Black governor elected since Reconstruction–endorsed Fairfax but declined to support gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam or attorney general candidate Mark Herring in the waning days of the campaign.
Northam and Herring also cruised to victory on Tuesday.
“I think Justin Fairfax is as qualified a candidate as you would have running for lieutenant governor, and has been for a long time,” Wilder said at a forum at Virginia Commonwealth University before he threw his support behind the 38-year-old lawyer.
Wilder’s election in 1989, was seen as a major breakthrough for African American politicians. Reverend Jesse L. Jackson’s 1988 presidential run was believed to be responsible—at least in part—for the wave of Black politicians elected to office, including Mayor David N. Dinkins in New York in 1989. Wilder would later go on to serve as mayor of Richmond from 2005 to 2009.
