Adam Ebbin (0039)

Adam Paul Ebbin, a Democrat, represented Virginia's 39th Senate District, which includes Alexandria and portions of Arlington and Fairfax counties. Born on November 10, 1963, in Huntington, New York, he became Virginia's first openly gay state legislator upon his 2003 election to the House of Delegates. He served eight years there before winning election to the Senate in 2012, with reelection in 2023 in the newly redrawn district. Ebbin is noted as a progressive leader advocating for gun violence prevention, voting access, reproductive rights, and equality, including landmark LGBTQ+ protections as the first Southern state to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity .

Education and Political Experience

Ebbin's early passion for politics emerged in grade school. Before entering office, he worked selling advertising for Washington City Paper and spent nearly a decade in roles for other politicians. His political career began with a narrow 2003 win in the House of Delegates' 49th District . In the Senate, he championed bills like decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana , supporting human trafficking victims , prenatal care for immigrants , wage theft protections , eviction penalties , and gun restrictions in state facilities . He founded the Virginia Partisan Gays and Lesbians Democratic Club and raised over $250,000 for Democrats in 2019, aiding Virginia's first progressive legislative trifecta. Other achievements include raising the tobacco purchase age to 21 and banning Russian election equipment and deepfake revenge porn.