10 Things You Didn't Know About Creigh Deeds

The Democratic state senator is vying for the Virginia governor's seat

1. Creigh Deeds was born in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 4, 1958. Early in his childhood, his family moved to Bath County in rural west-central Virginia.

2. His maternal grandfather was chairman of his local Democratic committee and owned the first house in Bath County to have electricity.

3. Deeds won his first election in fourth grade when he was voted to a 4-H post. He lost a race for 11th-grade president at Bath County High School.

4. He graduated with a B.A. from Concord College in 1980. He received his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1984.

5. Deeds was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1991 and to the Virginia Senate in 2001.

6. The National Rifle Association endorsed Deeds in his unsuccessful 2005 race for Virginia attorney general after he sponsored a state amendment in 2000 that guaranteed citizens the right to hunt and fish. Deeds lost the election to Bob McDonnell, his opponent in the contest for governor.

7. As a Virginia state senator, Deeds has served on four committees: Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources; Transportation; Privileges and Elections; and Rehabilitation and Social Services.

8. He is an attorney with Framme Law, a private firm in Richmond.

9. Deeds belongs to the Millboro Presbyterian Church in Millboro.

10. He and his wife, Pam, who works for the Virginia Employment Commission, have raised their four children at their home in Millboro Springs. They have several farm animals, including a donkey named Harry S. Truman.

• See photos of Deeds and McDonnell at a Halloween event.

Sources:

• Creigh Deeds for Governor
• The Washington Post
• WhoRunsGov.com
• Freedom Speaks
• The Hook, Charlottesville
• Richmond Times-Dispatch