Meet the candidates: Sen. Steve Newman

Sen. Steve Newman, a 15-year state Senate veteran, seeks reelection as the 23rd District Virginia State Senator.

Newman, 46, is the Republican incumbent for the 23rd District, which includes Lynchburg and Bedford, Amherst and Campbell counties. Newman’s democratic opponent is Robert Short Sr.

Newman was elected into the Virginia State Senate in 1996, and he has also served on the Lynchburg City Council for three years and the Virginia House of Delegates for four years, according to a survey on Short and Newman published by the Altavista Journal.

Newman said that he has been involved in the writing and passing of numerous bills and legislation throughout his career, including carrying the Medical Malpractice Insurance Legislation, which saves small businesses in their medical insurance costs. Among many other movements, he authored the Marriage Amendment that was passed into Virginia’s constitution and carried Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Economic Development package, according to the Altavista Journal.

“In the Virginia Senate, there is far less partisanship than most legislative bodies, and most of the bills I have sponsored have enjoyed wide support from both sides of the aisle,” states a quote by Newman in the Altavista Journal article.

Newman trusts his experience will inspire confidence in voters.

“I see myself as a principled conservative, and I believe that that’s what the nation and our commonwealth need,” Newman said. “I have been at the capitol for over 20 years, voting my convictions, and I think at this point in my career, I have the ability to get much more done at the capitol than at other times. I think that based on my beliefs, and also based on my tenure, I can assist our district again this term.”

The Economic Development package that Newman carried competes with the strong economic development programs set up by North Carolina, Texas and Maryland. Newman believes the program “will allow Virginia to be on the leading edge of start-up companies in the nation.”

Newman’s approach to economic growth and job creation is to keep state and federal government out of the way.

“Government does not produce jobs, but government certainly can inhibit job production,” Newman said. “The most important thing that we can do is keep taxes and regulation low so that private industry can thrive.”

Newman recognizes the daunting job market for what it is and had advice for college students who will soon be facing the workforce head on.

“Right now is a perfect time to prepare yourself,” Newman said. “The job market in the United States will come back and those that are most qualified will be on the leading edge of getting those jobs. I would encourage students to find their area of expertise and educate themselves to the limit of their capability.”

For the entirety of Newman’s involvement in the state senate, he has been on the education committee. He served as the chairman of the Public Education sub-committee for a number of those years. Newman, who wrote McDonnell’s K12 Education package, worked on a committee with Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. to improve higher education and defended the Tuition Assistance Grant program. Newman believes his involvement in education legislation gave him a strong handle on education in K12 through college and universities in the state of Virginia.

“We need to make sure that more money is going into the classrooms and less money into administrative functions of schools,” Newman said.

Newman is also an active supporter of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s efforts to sue the Obama administration over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.”

“The national healthcare act will injure America in many ways,” Newman said. “One, it robs our freedoms and requires people to purchase a product they may or may not want. Number two, it puts government in between the patient and the doctor, which is a mistake that Europe made and America should not.”

Newman was able to get the Partial Birth Abortion bill passed in Virginia and continually supports regulating abortion clinics to bring them up to hospital standards.

“I am unequivocally, proudly pro-life, and I have been a leader in the Senate of Virginia for the pro-life cause for decades,” Newman said.

According to Newman’s campaign manager, Liberty University senior Zach Martin, Newman not only talks a great talk but he walks the walk, living out his values and political beliefs.

“Senator Newman is the real deal,” Martin said. “He is not a politician, he is a statesman. He is one of the most influential senators in Virginia…. His convictions are real, and he does this because he loves Virginia, he loves freedom and he loves his family.”

Newman is a devoted family man who said his “biggest hobby is (his) children.” Newman and his wife, Kim, have two boys, Tyler, 15, and Wesley, 12. Newman enjoys hiking, golfing and canoeing with his family.

“Steve Newman is extremely committed to his family,” Martin said.

Recently, Newman was invited to three political events hosted by his good friends Rep. Robert Hurt, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Gov. Bob McDonnell, Martin said. He turned down the events, all occurring on the same evening, to watch his son’s final football game of the season.

“There are many things I have grown to admire about Sen. Newman, but I think of the most striking is that Sen. Newman does not accept personal gifts from lobbyists and even turns down donations from groups that have ideologically different views from his own,” Martin said. “Sen. Newman is in Richmond for the protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, nothing else.”