Justin Edward Fairfax (born February 17, 1979) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican nominee Jill Vogel in the 2017 election. He is the second African American elected statewide, following Douglas Wilder, who was elected to the same position in 1985 and became Virginia Governor in the 1989 election. Fairfax lives in Annandale, Virginia, with his wife and two children.[4] Fairfax's wife Cerina W. Fairfax is a dentist.On economic issues, Fairfax supports policies such as a $15 minimum wage, action on student loan debt, and more job training and apprenticeships for skilled trades such as electrician, welder, and machine operator. Fairfax supports investment in transportation and infrastructure, and implementation of Governor Terry McAuliffe's Virginia Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change. Fairfax favors promotion of renewable energy such as wind and solar. Fairfax supports the Affordable Care Act and an expansion of Medicaid to low-income Virginians. He supports caps on campaign contributions.
Fairfax has expressed support for single-payer healthcare. On social issues, Fairfax supports abortion rights[40] and same-sex marriage. He is supportive of gun control measures such as universal background checks, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and an assault weapons ban. He supports criminal justice reform, and supports former Governor McAuliffe's restoration of voting rights to felons who have completed probation and parole terms. Fairfax favors additional action to combat the opioid crisis,[41] and supports the decriminalization of the possession of limited amounts of marijuana for personal use.
