Edythe Harrison

{{short description|American politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|office = Member of the Virginia House of Delegates

|constituency = 39th district (1980–82)
37th district (1982–83)

|term_start = January 9, 1980

|term_end = January 12, 1983

|predecessor = Albert Teich

|successor = Stephen E. Gordy

|birth_name = Edythe Joyce Colton

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1934|9|17}}

|birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic

|spouse = Stanley Harrison

|education = Stephens College
Marymount Manhattan College
Wayne State University {{small|(BA)}}

}}

Edythe "Edie" Colton Harrison (born September 17, 1934) is an American politician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1980 to 1983. She lost renomination to Tom Moss in 1982 after the state's House district maps were redrawn.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1982/09/06/civic-activist-challenges-powerful-va-democrat-on-home-turf/420ebd14-e18a-4b93-a3ce-f7380ef16149/|title=Civic Activist Challenges Powerful Va. Democrat on Home Turf|first1=Celestine|last1=Bohlen|date=6 September 1982|access-date=7 April 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}} In 1984, she ran for United States Senate, losing to the Republican incumbent, John Warner.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1984/04/06/the-real-edythe-harrison-stands-up-in-virginia-race/36e2f66b-2c5b-4672-9ab0-31cb7827461a/|title=The Real Edythe Harrison Stands Up in Virginia Race|first1=Alison|last1=Muscatine|date=6 April 1984|access-date=7 April 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}} She was the first woman nominated for statewide office by the Virginia Democratic Party.

In 1974, Harrison worked to found the Virginia Opera Association and led a fundraising campaign to restore the Norfolk Municipal Auditorium for the company's new home, the Harrison Opera House.{{cite web|url=http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/vawomen/2010/honoree.asp?bio=6|title=The Library of Virginia - Virginia Women in History 2010|access-date=7 April 2017}}