Justin Edward Fairfax (born February 17, 1979)[2][3] is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022.

[5] Justin Fairfax was presented with a copy of the manumission document by his father on the day he was sworn in as Virginia's lieutenant governor in 2018.

One of four children, Fairfax graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he was senior class president.

[12] The Washington Post praised both candidates during the primary, but endorsed Fairfax, writing that he had displayed "an agile and impressive command of the issues with a prosecutor's passion for justice.

In the Democratic primaries, he faced Gene Rossi, a federal prosecutor, who had trained Fairfax when they worked together in Alexandria's Eastern District federal court,[22][23] and Susan Platt, a political lobbyist and consultant, who had served as chief of staff to Joe Biden in the 1990s (Platt had also run Virginia Senator Chuck Robb's 1994 re-election campaign and Don Beyer's unsuccessful 1997 gubernatorial campaign).

[22][24] Citing their unease with Dominion Energy's planned construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, all three candidates in the Democratic primary pledged to refuse campaign contributions from Dominion Energy, despite the company being the largest contributor to Virginia political campaigns for both Republicans and Democrats.

[25] Although early polling showed Platt in the lead,[26] Fairfax significantly outraised both of his opponents[27] and proved victorious in the primary election, carrying about 49% of the vote.

[28][29] Fairfax then faced Republican nominee Jill Vogel, a state senator from Fauquier County, in the general election.

[36][37] In the final days of the campaign, former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder weighed in on the flyer controversy, saying that Fairfax had not "been dealt a good hand".

[43] In September 2018, Fairfax joined the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, continuing the historic practice of Virginia lieutenant governors maintaining employment while in office.

[45] On January 19, 2019, Fairfax protested a tribute in the state Senate honoring Confederate General Robert E. Lee's birthday.

Lee...I'll be thinking of this June 5, 1798, manumission document that freed my great-great-great grandfather Simon Fairfax from slavery in Virginia.

"[46] In early February 2019, Big League Politics[47] reported that Fairfax had been accused by Vanessa C. Tyson, an associate professor at Scripps College and fellow at Stanford University, of sexual assault at a hotel at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.

[48][49] Tyson said she had suppressed memories of the event but began telling close friends about it when she saw pictures of Fairfax running for lieutenant governor in 2017.

[52] Fairfax also insinuated that supporters of Northam, or someone connected with Richmond mayor Levar Stoney, a potential political rival since both were speculated as possible Democratic candidates for governor in 2021, may have been behind the allegation going public.

[53][54][55] Tyson released a statement detailing her allegations, saying the encounter started as consensual kissing but ended with Fairfax forcing her to perform oral sex on him.

I have passed two full, field background checks by the FBI and run for office in two highly contested elections with nothing like this being raised before.

[75] Hope backed off his plan to introduce articles of impeachment after fellow House Democrats said they were not prepared for the process, saying "additional conversations" were needed.

[76] Tyson's lawyer has reached out to the Suffolk County, Massachusetts district attorney to schedule a meeting to detail her allegations,[77] while a spokesman for Fairfax said he would be willing to cooperate with any probe and to "explore all options with regard to filing his own criminal complaint in response to the filing of a false criminal complaint against him.

[79] On economic issues, Fairfax supports policies such as a $15 minimum wage,[12][80] action on student loan debt,[80][81] and more job training and apprenticeships for skilled trades such as electrician, welder, and machine operator.

[12][80] Fairfax supports investment in transportation and infrastructure,[12] and implementation of Governor Terry McAuliffe's Virginia Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change.

[81] Fairfax favors additional action to combat the opioid crisis,[85] and supports the decriminalization of the possession of limited amounts of marijuana for personal use.