Stella Pekarsky

American politician from Virginia

Stella Pekarsky

Member of the Virginia Senate from the 36th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2024
Preceded by	George Barker (Redistricting)
Member of the Fairfax County School Board
In office January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2023

Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Education	George Mason University

Stella Pekarsky is an American politician of the Democratic Party from the Commonwealth of Virginia. She serves in the Senate of Virginia, representing the 36th district, made up of western Fairfax County.^[1] She was first elected to the Virginia Senate in the 2023 Virginia Senate election.

She previously served as a member of the Fairfax County School Board.^[2]

Personal life

Pekarsky graduated with a B.A. in Government & Politics at George Mason University.^[3] She is Greek-American and a practicing Greek Orthodox.^[4]

Virginia State Senate

2023 election

Pekarsky announced her candidacy in 2023 against incumbent Democrat George Barker, who represented the now redistricted 36th District, since 2007. On June 21, Pekarsky pulled an upset victory defeating the sitting incumbent in a 52%-47% victory.^[5]

In the general election, she faced Julie Perry, a high school teacher at Centreville High School. Perry faced anti-semetic criticism for claiming that "To come out and say you’re a teacher on the right is almost as dangerous as … going through Germany in the 1930s and saying, ‘I’m Jewish.’ It’s gotten that bad”.^[6] On November 7, Pekarsky defeated Perry in a 60%-38% victory.^[7]

Electoral history

Election to the Fairfax County School Board - Sully District, 2019
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stella Pekarsky	20,355	58.45
	Republican	Thomas Wilson	14,383	41.30

Democratic Primary for the 36th Senate District, 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stella Pekarsky	8,083	52.47
	Democratic	George Barker	7,322	47.53

Election to the Virginia State Senate 36th District, 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stella Pekarsky	36,802	60.85
	Republican	Julie Perry	23,458	38.78

References

^ "vpap.org". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
^ "Virginians oust Democrat who sought abortion limits and Republican who denied 2020 results". ABC News. June 20, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
^ "Stella's Story | Stella Pekarsky for Virginia Senate". stellapekarsky.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
^ "Senate of Virginia". apps.senate.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
^ "Fairfax County Democrats oust two established senators, as incumbents prevail in local races | FFXnow". FFXnow | Fairfax County, Va. breaking news and local happenings. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
^ Lai, Stephanie (2021-07-30). "Republican House of Delegates candidate in Va. compares right-leaning teachers to Jews in Nazi Germany". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
^ "vpap.org". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2024-02-05.