Mark Herring Biography | Mark Herring
Mark Herring(full name: Mark Rankin Herring) is an American attorney who is the 47th and current Attorney General of Virginia. A Democrat, he previously served in the Senate of Virginia since a 2006 special election, representing the 33rd district, made up of parts of Fairfax and Loudoun counties
He served in elected office on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors from 2000 to 2003, and was the Town Attorney for Lovettsville, Virginia, from 1992 to 1999. He is the principal with The Herring Law Firm, P.C., in Leesburg, Virginia.
Herring was elected to the Senate of Virginia in a special election triggered by two-term incumbent Republican Bill Mims’ appointment as chief deputy attorney general of Virginia. He was re-elected to a full term in the 2007 election and re-elected again in 2011.
On July 24, 2012, he announced that he would run for the office of Attorney General of Virginia, in the 2013 elections. On April 2, 2013, The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) certified that Herring’s name would appear on the June primary ballot. On June 11, 2013, Herring won the primary.
Fellow Democrat Jennifer Wexton won the election to succeed him in representing the 33rd Senatorial District.
Mark Herring Age
Mark Rankin Herring is an American lawyer who is the 47th and current Attorney General of Virginia. A Democrat, he previously served in the Senate of Virginia since a 2006 special election, representing the 33rd district, made up of parts of Fairfax and Loudoun counties.
Mark is 57 years old as of 2018. He was born on 25 September 1961 in Johnson City, Tennessee, United States.
Early life And Education
Herring was born in Johnson City, Tennessee, and moved to Leesburg, Virginia at the age of 12. Raised by a single mother, he graduated from Loudoun Valley High School in 1979 and worked in construction and many other jobs in order to pay for college.
He eventually obtained a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in foreign affairs and economics at the University of Virginia. He also obtained a Master of Arts in foreign affairs from UVA. He subsequently obtained a J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.
Mark Herring Attorney General of Virginia
2013 election
Herring faced Justin Fairfax in the Democratic primary in June 2013, winning narrowly by a margin of 52%-48%. He faced Republican Mark Obenshain in the general election.
On the night of the election, Obenshain held a 1,200 vote lead over Herring. Vote totals fluctuated as ballots were canvassed in the following days, and the race remained too close to call. On November 12, 2013, with all ballots counted, Herring held a 165-vote lead or less than 0.01%, and Obenshain requested a recount.
Herring’s total increased during the recount, so Obenshain conceded the election on December 18, 2013, and later that day, the recount ended with Herring winning by 907 votes, or 0.04%.
Tenure
Herring was sworn into office on January 11, 2014.
Virginia Marriage Amendment
On January 23, 2014, Herring announced that he would not defend the Virginia Marriage Amendment in federal court, and filed a brief in a federal lawsuit being brought against the law asking for it to be struck down.
Herring said in a press conference announcing the move, “I believe the freedom to marry is a fundamental right and I intend to ensure that Virginia is on the right side of history and the right side of the law.”
Reaction to the announcement was mainly along party lines, with Democrats mostly praising the move and Republicans mostly criticizing it as a violation of his oath of office.
The National Organization for Marriage has called for Herring’s impeachment, claiming that the Virginia attorney general is obligated to defend all state laws against challenges. In the press conference, Herring said, “There are those who will say that the attorney general is required to defend every challenge to state law, even a law that is unconstitutional. They could not be more wrong.”
The amendment was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. District Court in Norfolk in the case Bostic v. Schaefer on February 13, 2014. On July 28, 2014, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2–1 opinion upholding the lower court’s decision.
This was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, which denied a writ of certiorari, letting the Fourth Circuit Court’s decision stand and legalizing same-sex marriage in Virginia.
Gerrymandering case
In 2019, Mark Herring and the Democratic Party won their case against gerrymandering in Virginia elections when the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the Virginia House GOP’s appeal.
2017 election
Herring faced no opposition in the Democratic primary and won his party’s endorsement for re-election. He is the first Virginia Attorney General to run for reelection since Mary Sue Terry in 1989.
He defeated Republican opponent John Donley Adams and won re-election. His former opponent and fellow lawyer Justin Fairfax won the race for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in the same year.
Blackface controversy
A few days after the controversy began over a blackface picture appearing on Ralph Northam’s page in a 1984 medical school yearbook in the context of the 2019 Virginia political crisis, Herring admitted to an incident in which he also wore blackface:
In 1980, when I was a 19-years old undergraduate in college (at the University of Virginia), some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song.
Herring had previously called on Northam to resign after the discovery of Northam’s yearbook page, saying, “It is no longer possible for Governor Northam to lead our Commonwealth, and it is time for him to step down.”
He later clarified that the discovery of the yearbook page was not the reason he called for Northam’s resignation; he did so because Northam had initially admitted to appearing in the photo, but the following day, “came out with a different and contradictory account, and that was when there was an erosion of trust.”
Dr. Mark Herring
From Oregon Neurology: Mark O. Herring, MD
Mark O. Herring, MD, especially enjoys his long-term relationships with patients who have chronic neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis, migraines, Parkinson’s, strokes and Alzheimer’s.
As a “migraines” himself, and with several spine operations under his belt, he relates especially well with those patients. “I enjoy visiting with all my patients, even those with difficult problems,” he says. “I really care about them, and feel fortunate to practice with partners who are truly compassionate.”
Dr. Herring earned his medical degree at Dartmouth Medical School in 1980. He completed a residency in neurology at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center, and was chief resident. He did additional training in psychiatry at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital.
He is board eligible in neurology. Dr. Herring is the chief of medicine at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital where he serves on the physicians’ leadership group and is stroke director.
Laura Herring Mark Herring Wife, Married
Mark Herring was raised by a single mother in Loudoun County, Virginia. She instilled in him that when you see a problem in your community, you have an obligation to try and fix it.
He worked construction and other jobs in order to help pay for college. And he’s never forgotten where he came from, which is why he works every single day to make our families and communities safer.
As Attorney General, Mark has assembled an elite team of prosecutors to crack down on heroin dealers, violent gang members, gun runners, human traffickers, and those who attempt to exploit our children online.
He is helping survivors of sexual assault pursue justice by eliminating a three-decade-old backlog of more than 2,000 untested rape kits to find and prosecute criminals.
He has made communities safer by cracking down on illegal guns and promoting commonsense gun safety laws, like universal background checks, that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. And he has worked to improve relations between police departments and the communities they serve with innovative training and recruiting initiatives.
Since the day he was sworn in, Attorney General Herring has worked nonstop to defend the rights of Virginia taxpayers, seniors, veterans, and military families.
He has won more than $100 million in debt relief and restitution for veterans and military families, and his best-in-the-nation Medicaid Fraud unit has saved taxpayers more than $60 million.
Just 12 days into his term, General Herring became the first attorney general to successfully argue that his state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples should be struck down, winning at the district court and appeals court before the United States Supreme Court let the decision stand, bringing marriage equality to the Commonwealth within 10 months of his taking office.
He has won huge victories in courts for clean air and water including the Chesapeake Bay, for affordable health care, and for the right of all Virginians to live and worship free from hate and discrimination.
Prior to being elected Attorney General, Mark served as a state Senator representing Loudoun and Fairfax counties. Mark worked on issues facing one of America’s fastest-growing counties and some of the world’s most innovative businesses.
Mark also served on Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors, and was a small business owner, running a private practice in his hometown of Leesburg where he has practiced law for more than 20 years.
Mark received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia and graduated with honors from the University of Richmond School of Law.
Mark and his wife, Laura, have been married for 27 years. They have two children, daughter Peyton, 24, and son Tim, 21.
Obituary
Mark Herring Lansing Age 57, our loving son and brother passed away December 29, 2009, in Detroit, MI Born December 11, 1952, in Lansing, MI. Mark was a teacher at L.C.C. and he enjoyed Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. Mark was preceded in death by his wife, Janice; mother, Pauline; sister, Patricia.
Mark Herring Facebook
Mark Y Herring
Mark Y. Herring is Dean of Library Services at Winthrop University. He has worked in librarianship for more than two decades. He has written numerous books, articles, and scores of reviews for magazines and journals both in and out of the library profession, including The Pro-Life/Choice Debate (Greenwood, 2003).
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