Mary Sue Terry

Mary Sue Terry (born September 28, 1947) is an American Democratic politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Early life Terry was born the daughter of Nathaniel Chatham Terry and Nannie Ruth Terry in Martinsville, Virginia. She was an active and enthusiastic Democrat as a child.

She was graduated from Hardin-Reynolds Memorial School in Critz, Virginia in 1965. She earned a BA in political science from the University of Richmond's Westhampton College in 1969, master's in government (1970) and law (1973) degrees from the University of Virginia and its law school.

Attorney general She was elected attorney general in 1985 and reelected in 1989, becoming the first woman elected to statewide office in Virginia, the second woman to serve as attorney general of any U.S. state, and the first non-federal elected official in Virginia to garner more than one million votes in a single election. In 1989, she considered running for governor, but deferred to her fellow Democrat, then-Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Douglas Wilder, who became the first elected African-American Governor of any U.S. state.

Candidate for governor

She was Attorney General of Virginia from 1986 until 1993, when she resigned to run for Governor of Virginia against Republican George Allen. Allen won the November 1993 election despite Terry's early and significant lead. Her unpopular gun-control stance alienated her rural base voters. Her campaign was "lacklustre", and the religious right was a factor even though Michael Farris lost his bid to be Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Her opponents also pointed out that she was unmarried, and alleged that she was less empathetic on family issues.

Life after candidacy Following her defeat, Terry was a visiting professor at the University of Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies. She served on the Board of Trustees at the University of Richmond from 1983 to 1991.

In 2007, Terry was consulting for Microsoft and nearby Ferrum College while living on her family farm in Patrick County, Virginia.

Awards and memberships Service to Youth award, Virginia YMCA, 1981 Distinguished Alumna award University of Richmond, 1984