Tim Hugo

Timothy Douglas Hugo (born January 7, 1963) is an American businessman, military veteran, and Republican politician in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2003 to 2020, representing the 40th district. Hugo was defeated for re-election in 2019 by Democrat Dan Helmer.

Overview From 2003 to 2020, Hugo served in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 40th district in Fairfax and Prince William counties. The district encompassed both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Clifton in Fairfax County. It also included unincorporated parts of Centreville, Fairfax, and Fairfax Station in Fairfax County as well as unincorporated sections of Catharpin, Gainesville, Haymarket, and Manassas in Prince William County. Approximately 80% of the district's population and 65% of its landmass is located in Fairfax County.

A member of the Republican Party, Hugo was the House of Delegates' majority caucus chairman. Hugo served on the Commerce and Labor (2007–2020), Education (2003), Finance (2004–2020), Privileges and Elections (2003–2006 and 2010–2020), Science and Technology (2007–2020), and Transportation (2003–2020) committees.

While the 40th district is historically Republican-leaning, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton bested Republican nominee Donald Trump by an eight-point margin (51–43%) in the 2016 presidential election. In the 2017 elections, Democrat Donte Tanner challenged Hugo, but narrowly lost. Despite having about 14% of the state's population residing within its boundaries, following the 2017 elections, Hugo remained the only Republican in the Virginia General Assembly to represent a district based in Fairfax County. Hugo lost reelection in 2019 to Democrat Dan Helmer. At the time of his defeat, he was the last Republican to represent a significant portion of Fairfax County above the county level.

Education and professional career In 1986, Hugo earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the College of William & Mary.

Electoral history Hugo was first elected in a December 2002 special election. He replaced Republican incumbent Jay O'Brien, who vacated the seat after he won a November 2002 special election to represent the 39th district in the Senate of Virginia. Hugo was re-elected in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015, never receiving less than 57% of the vote. Following Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's winning of the 40th district by an eight-point margin (51–43%) in 2016, Democrats targeted Hugo in 2017. After further canvassing, Hugo's lead increased to 115 votes. As of November 8, the race was too close to call. but on November 29, the Tanner campaign filed for a recount. A recount was conducted, and on December 14, the recount confirmed that Hugo won the election by 99 votes. Hugo lost in the 2019 election to Dan Helmer.

Date Election Candidate Party Votes % Virginia House of Delegates, 40th district Dec 17, 2002 Special Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 2,927 67.40 Carol A. Hawn Democratic 1,318 30.34 Joseph P. Oddo Independent 59 1.36 Mark A. Calhoun Independent 39 0.90 Jay O'Brien was elected to the Senate; seat stayed Republican Nov 4, 2003 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 9,400 98.24 Write Ins 168 1.76 Nov 8, 2005 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 13,076 89.85 Write Ins 1,477 10.15 Nov 6, 2007 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 8,707 57.14 Rex A. Simmons Democratic 6,520 42.78 Write Ins 11 0.07 Nov 3, 2009 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 12,056 63.40 Susan S. Conrad Democratic 6,936 36.47 Write Ins 23 0.12 Nov 8, 2011 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 11,565 73.84 Dianne L. Blais Independent Greens 4,021 25.67 Write Ins 75 0.47 Nov 5, 2013 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 14,887 59.96 Jerry L. Foltz Democratic 9,903 39.88 Write Ins 40 0.16 Nov 3, 2015 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 10,875 65.17 Jerry L. Foltz Democratic 5,781 34.65 Write Ins 28 0.17 Nov 7, 2017 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 15,110 50.10 Donte T. Tanner Democratic 15,004 49.74 Write Ins 48 0.16 Nov 5, 2019 General Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo Republican 14,457 47.55 Dan Helmer Democratic 15,913 52.34 Write Ins 34 0.11