Joshua G. Cole
{{short description|Virginia house of representatives member}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Joshua Cole
| image = File:Cole on House Floor.jpg
| caption = Joshua Cole on the House Floor in 2020.
| alt = Photograph of Joshua Cole on the House Floor in 2020.
| office = Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
| constituency = 65th district
| term_start = January 10, 2024
| predecessor = Lee Ware (redistricting)
| constituency1 = 28th district
| term_start1 = January 8, 2020
| term_end1 = January 12, 2022
| predecessor1 = Robert Thomas
| successor1 = Tara Durant
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|7|25}}
| birth_place = Washington, D.C.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fredericksburg.com/news/election/milde-and-cole-clash-in-high-stakes-battle-for-th/article_e8a80fbc-6c7b-5c19-9e19-a2337fe07cab.html|title=Milde and Cole clash in high-stakes battle for 28th District House seat|first=James Scott Baron The Free|last=Lance-Star|website=Fredericksburg.com|date=26 October 2019 }}
| party = Democratic
| spouse = Tiffany Santora
| residence = Fredericksburg, Virginia
| alma_mater =
}}
Joshua Gregory Cole (born July 25, 1990) is an American politician. A Democrat, he served one term as member of the Virginia House of Delegates as the representative of Virginia's 28th district. Elected by the Democratic Party of Virginia, Cole served as a member of the Democratic National Committee at the 2020 convention.{{Cite web|date=2020-06-22|title=2020 Democratic Party of Virginia State Convention Results|url=http://vademocrats.org/news/2020-democratic-party-of-virginia-state-convention-results/|access-date=2021-01-29|website=Democratic Party of Virginia|language=en-US}} Cole was elected to represent Virginia's 65th district in the 2023 Virginia House of Delegates election.{{cite web|url=https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/government-politics/republican-lee-peters-iii-and-democrat-josh-cole-faced-off-for-redrawn-65th-house-district-in-election/article_1587545e-79ce-11ee-bfbe-9b11d9713e71.html|title=Joshua Cole returning to House of Delegates with victory in 65th District|website=fredericksburg.com|date=8 November 2023 |accessdate=2023-12-30}}
Early life and education
Cole was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Stafford County, Virginia. He graduated from North Stafford High School and attended Liberty University for three years. He currently attends the University of Mary Washington.
Career
He worked for Liberty University and Richmond City Public Schools. He was also a pastor and is the immediate past president of the Stafford County NAACP.{{Cite web|url=http://www.staffordnaacp.org/executive-committee.html|title=Executive Committee|website=Unit 7118}} Cole has also had many staff positions in the Virginia Assembly. Between the 2017 and 2019 elections, he was chief of staff to Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler.{{Cite web|url=https://sisterdistrict.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Josh-Cole-Dossier-FINAL.pdf|title=Joshua Cole Dossier|publisher=Sister District Project|accessdate=2023-12-30}}
=Virginia House of Delegates=
In 2017, Cole ran for the 28th district in the 2017 Virginia House of Delegates election but lost to Bob Thomas by 73 votes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.insidenova.com/news/election/cole-plans-another-run-for-th-district-delegate/article_a16a88aa-8489-11e8-880e-57f868cff0af.html|title=Cole plans another run for 28th District delegate|website=INSIDENOVA.COM|date=10 July 2018 }}
In 2019, Cole announced his campaign for the same seat in the 2019 election. He faced then Stafford County Supervisor, Paul V. Milde, who had defeated Thomas in the Republican primary.{{Cite web|url=https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/milde-edges-thomas-to-win-republican-nomination-for-28th-district-house-seat/article_1c16fcb7-52a1-5e3a-9a3a-faaf0a9db991.html|title=Milde edges Thomas to win Republican nomination for 28th District House seat|website=Fredericksburg.com|date=11 June 2019 |accessdate=2023-12-30}} Cole won with 51.8% of the vote.{{Cite web|url=https://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2019%20November%20General/Site/Member%20House%20of%20Delegates%20(028).html|title=2019 November General}}
His 2021 re-election won the support of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, an organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ candidates.{{cite web|url=https://victoryfund.org/candidate/joshua-cole/|title=Joshua Cole, Virginia Delegate for HD-28|publisher=LGBTQ Victory Fund|accessdate=2021-08-02|archive-date=2021-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802092020/https://victoryfund.org/candidate/joshua-cole/|url-status=dead}} He also received endorsement from The Collective PAC, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Barack Obama. Cole was defeated for re-election in November 2021 by Tara Durant.{{Cite news|title=Republicans end Democratic control of Virginia House of Delegates|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-house/2021/11/02/44bbab6c-36b4-11ec-91dc-551d44733e2d_story.html|access-date=2021-11-06|issn=0190-8286}}
In 2023, Cole declared his candidacy for the redrawn 65th district.{{cite web|url=https://myhyperbole.com/joshua-cole-announces-candidacy-for-virginias-new-65th-district/|title=Joshua Cole Announces Candidacy for Virginia's New 65th District|website=myhyperbole.com|accessdate=2023-12-30}} He won the seat in the general election.{{cite web|url=https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/government-politics/republican-lee-peters-iii-and-democrat-josh-cole-faced-off-for-redrawn-65th-house-district-in-election/article_1587545e-79ce-11ee-bfbe-9b11d9713e71.html|title=Joshua Cole returning to House of Delegates with victory in 65th District|website=Fredericksburg.com|date=8 November 2023 |accessdate=2023-12-30}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Virginia House of Delegates}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Joshua G.}}
Category:People from Stafford County, Virginia
Category:Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Category:Candidates in the 2017 United States elections
Category:Bisexual male politicians
Category:LGBTQ state legislators in Virginia
Category:American bisexual men
Category:American bisexual politicians
Category:21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly
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