by Markus Schmidt
Virginia Mercury
Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger on Wednesday tapped Del. Candi Mundon King to serve as Virginia’s next secretary of the commonwealth, elevating one of the House of Delegates’ most active Democratic lawmakers to a key post that manages gubernatorial appointments, clemency requests and constituent services.
Mundon King’s appointment will trigger a special election in House District 23 ahead of the General Assembly’s mid-January start, opening a heavily Democratic seat that spans portions of Stafford and Prince William counties.
Spanberger said Mundon King brings a bipartisan record of problem-solving and a long resume in community advocacy and public-policy work.
“Throughout her career, Delegate Mundon King has worked to bring people together to get results for the people of Virginia,” Spanberger said in a statement, praising what she called Mundon King’s “dedication, courage and a commitment to delivering on the promise of our commonwealth.”
Mundon King, who has represented the 23rd District since 2021, said she was “deeply honored” by the opportunity and planned to bring the same emphasis on accessibility and community engagement she has pressed as a delegate.
“Throughout my career, I have been committed to improving government accessibility and ensuring our institutions work effectively for every community,” she said. “I will bring that same dedication to managing the critical functions of this office while enhancing the delivery of constituent services.”
Her move into Spanberger’s cabinet marks a rapid rise for a lawmaker who has become a prominent Democratic voice on maternal health, reproductive rights, public safety, utility regulation and local-government issues.
Mundon King currently chairs the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, serves as vice chair of the body’s Public Safety Committee, and sits on the House Finance and Labor and Commerce committees.
Mundon King’s legislative portfolio has stretched across sectors, with signature wins that include pay raises for teachers, protections for victims of human trafficking, paid sick leave for home health-care workers and stronger safeguards for renters facing unauthorized entry by landlords.
One of her most closely watched efforts — the Contraceptive Equity Act — was part of a coordinated 2024 push with then-Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, now lieutenant governor-elect. The bill requires insurers to cover all FDA-approved contraceptives without out-of-pocket costs, an attempt to strengthen protections once guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act. It passed but later saw a religious exemption added by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
That same session, she carried a bill aimed at shielding abortion providers from Board of Medicine discipline when performing legal abortions in Virginia. It cleared the House and Senate but was vetoed as part of a broader reproductive-health package rejected by the governor.
Mundon King helped lead the Virginia “Momnibus” — a multi-bill Democratic initiative targeting racial disparities in maternal outcomes and expanding support for pregnant people and new parents.
In the past two sessions, Mundon King carried provisions dealing with bias training for health-care providers, data collection and more robust maternal-health programming. She has signaled plans to revive proposals on unconscious-bias training and incentives for businesses that offer childcare after federal maternal-mortality funding expired.
Her advocacy has been deeply personal. In early October, Mundon King lost her 15-year-old daughter, Candis, who died after a long battle with sickle cell disease. The family’s story, shared publicly, brought an outpouring of condolences from lawmakers across the aisle and renewed attention to the disease and the challenges families face.
Mundon King has also pushed to modernize how the state handles public symbols.
Her bill removing two Robert E. Lee specialty license plates won legislative approval but was slowed when Youngkin proposed requiring a second vote in the following session, delaying the change.
Energy policy has been another focus. Earlier this year, Mundon King sponsored House Bill 2413, a measure seeking more transparency and stronger oversight of long-term utility planning amid unprecedented power-demand growth from data-center development. Youngkin vetoed the bill, arguing the State Corporation Commission already has sufficient authority.
Beyond her legislative role, Mundon King founded the Sickle Cell Caucus and the Black Maternal Health Caucus. She has more than two decades of experience in philanthropy and advocacy, including work at CARE, where she helped advance the Global Food Security Act, and the Gates Foundation, where she supported policy and community-relations efforts.
Born and raised in Portsmouth, she is active in regional community organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and has served on the Virginia Employment Commission and the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. She lives in Dumfries with her family.
Spanberger said she expects Mundon King to be a key member of her cabinet. “I look forward to the work she will continue to do on behalf of my administration,” she said.
(Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in Virginia Mercury and is being republished here with permission)
