Ronnie Campbell Obituary: House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican from Shenandoah, announced on Tuesday that Virginia Delegate Ronnie Campbell, a Republican who had been a member of the House of Delegates since 2019, had passed away from cancer.
Gilbert referred to Campbell as “a decent man and dedicated public worker” in a news release.
“A detail from one of my last conversations with Ronnie speaks volumes about the kind of man he was. His biggest worry wasn’t the disease attacking his body or any concern over what comes next,” Gilbert said. “No, Ronnie was worried that he wouldn’t be able to make it to Richmond to do his job, to be the voice for his constituents that they elected him to be. Just hours before his passing, he was working to see that the legislation he had prepared for the upcoming session wouldn’t fall by the wayside if, for some reason, he couldn’t be with us.”
Campbell, a native of Augusta County and a former state trooper, served as the representative for a region of western Virginia that included the counties of Rockbridge and Bath, the cities of Lexington and Buena Vista, and a portion of Augusta and Amherst counties. He formerly held positions on the Board of Supervisors and the School Board for Rockbridge County.
Campbell’s passing will probably result in another special election in an exceptionally crowded electoral schedule for the start of the new year, with the General Assembly’s 2023 session only one month away.
On January 10, there will be two extra General Assembly elections, one to cover the spot left open by the resignation of veteran Northern Virginia delegate Mark Keam. The other is to replace the vacancy left by Sen. Jen Kiggans’ resignation; she was a Virginia Beach Republican who defeated Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria in the previous month’s midterm elections.
A special election has been scheduled for February 21 to fill the vacant 4th District congressional seat for the greater Richmond area due to the recent passing of former Rep. Donald McEachin. Many Democratic General Assembly members are running for the position. Follow Newswatchlist.com for more information. You can also leave your thoughts in the comment section, and don’t forget to bookmark our website.