Adele McClure

Adele Y. McClure is an American politician serving as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 2nd district since 2024. A Democrat, she previously served as executive director of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and as policy director for former lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax.

Adele McClure
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2024
Preceded by	Candi King (redistricting)
Personal details
Born	Yuma, Arizona, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Virginia Commonwealth University (BS)

Early life and education

McClure was born in Yuma, Arizona^[1]; her mother raised her and worked as an early childhood care provider while her father was an immigrant from the Philippines who served in the U.S. Army.^[2] She grew up in the Fairfax County portion of Alexandria and said she experienced hunger and periodic homelessness. During high school, she worked three jobs and took care of her niece and nephew while her brother was incarcerated.^[3]

She is a first generation college graduate, earning a Bachelor of Science in economics from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011.^[1]

Political career

McClure was previously the executive director of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. She also worked under lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax as a policy director, resigning after he was accused of sexual misconduct.^[4] McClure was featured on the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Law & Policy list.^[5]

Virginia House of Delegates

McClure first ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2023 to represent the 2nd district, a new district created from redistricting based in Arlington County.^[3] She won the Democratic primary unopposed after her two opponents, Kevin Saucedo-Broach and Nicole Merlene, withdrew from the race and was unopposed in the general election.^[6]

In 2025, EMILY's List awarded McClure with the 15th annual Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.^[2]

Tenure

Shortly after taking office, she proposed legislation to implement single-stair reform in multi-family residential buildingas as part of an effort to increase housing supply.^[7]

Personal life

In 2019, McClure revealed that she was sexually assaulted at age 16 while giving a speech calling for Fairfax to resign.^[4] She has a daughter.^[2] She identifies as Baptist and queer.^[1][8]