Aston Donald "Don" McEachin (born October 10, 1961, in Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) is a personal injury lawyer and an American politician. A Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

 1996–2001 and 2006–07. In November 2007, he was elected to the Senate of Virginia

Senate of Virginia

The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia...

. He Virginia's 9th Senate District, made up of Charles City County

Charles City County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

, plus parts of Henrico County

Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 and the city of Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. He attended St. Christopher's School

St. Christopher's School, Richmond

St. Christopher’s School, founded in 1911, is a college preparatory school for boys located in Richmond, Virginia. A program of coordination with nearby St. Catherine's School allows a broader selection of courses at the Upper School level, taught in coeducational classes on both campuses...

 in Richmond, American University

American University

American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

, and the University of Virginia School of Law

University of Virginia School of Law

The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...

.

Political career

McEachin served in the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

 from 1996 to 2001.

In 2001, McEachin had won a four-way Democratic primary for Attorney General of Virginia

Attorney General of Virginia

The Attorney General of Virginia is an executive office in the Government of Virginia. Attorneys General are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election . There are no term limits restricting the number of terms someone can serve as Attorney General...

, with 33.6% of the vote. In the general election in November, he lost to Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Jerry W. Kilgore

Jerry W. Kilgore

Jerry Walter Kilgore, , a Republican, is a former Attorney General of Virginia. In the 2005 race for Governor of Virginia, Jerry Kilgore was defeated by then Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, a Democrat...

 by 20 percentage points.

From 2006 to 2007, McEachin again served in the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

.

In a June 2007 primary, McEachin won the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat he now holds by defeating incumbent Senator Benjamin Lambert

Benjamin Lambert

Benjamin J. Lambert, III is an optometrist and former Virginia legislator elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate as a Democrat.-Early life and education:...

, after Lambert endorsed Republican United States Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 George Allen

George Allen (U.S. politician)

George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...

 in Allen's unsuccessful 2006 re-election campaign against Jim Webb

Jim Webb

James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....

.

McEachin is commonly cited as a close ally of Richmond Mayor and former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder

Douglas Wilder

Lawrence Douglas "Doug" Wilder is an American politician, the first African American to be elected as governor of Virginia, and the second to serve as governor of a U.S. state. Wilder served as the 66th Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. When earlier elected as Lieutenant Governor, he was...

.

Personal life

McEachin, his wife Colette and three daughters live in Henrico County. McEachin is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, the NAACP, the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.

External links

(Constituent/campaign website) (Blog website)

• Project Vote Smart - Representative Aston Donald McEachin (VA) profile
• Follow the Money - A. Donald McEachin
  • 2005 2001 1999 campaign contributions
• Washington Post - Senate District 9 Race