{{Short description|American politician from Virginia}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Monty Mason | image = Monty Mason- Friends of JLab (cropped).jpg | state_senate = Virginia | district = 1st | term_start = November 23, 2016 | term_end = January 10, 2024 | predecessor = John Miller | successor = Danny Diggs (Redistricting) | state_delegate1 = Virginia | district1 = 93rd | term_start1 = January 8, 2014 | term_end1 = November 21, 2016 | predecessor1 = Michael Watson | successor1 = Michael Mullin | birth_name = Taylor Montgomery Mason | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|09|08}} | birth_place = Farmville, Virginia | party = Democratic | alma_mater = College of William & Mary | website = {{URL|www.masonforvirginia.com|Senate website}} | committees = Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources <br> Commerce and Labor <br>General Laws and Technology <br>Privileges and Elections<br> Rehabilitation and Social Services }} '''Taylor Montgomery Mason''' (born September 8, 1967) is an American politician from Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Mason served as a member of the Virginia Senate for the 1st district from 2016 to 2024. From 2014 to 2016 he represented the 93rd district in the Virginia House of Delegates.

==Early life== Mason was born in Farmville, Virginia. He attended the College of William & Mary, and graduated in 1989 with a degree in government. While at William & Mary, Mason was a member of the fraternity Pi Lambda Phi, which organized annual mock “slave auctions” to raise money. In the 1989 edition of the College’s yearbook, Mason is pictured and named alongside descriptions of these auctions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monty Mason '89 yearbook pages depict Pi Lambda Phi 'slave auctions'|url=https://flathatnews.com/2019/02/07/monty-mason-89-yearbook-pages-depict-pi-lambda-phi-slave-auctions/}}</ref>

Mason works for Visa Inc. as a senior director, specializing on fraud prevention and risk management.<ref name=wy/>

==Political career== Mason ran for the 93rd district of the Virginia House of Delegates in the 2013 elections. He defeated incumbent Republican Michael B. Watson.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vaughan |first=Steve |url=http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-93dhouserelection-1106-20131105-1,0,6693720.story |title=who own who lost and why in 93rd District |publisher=vagazette.com |access-date=November 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131106144812/http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-93dhouserelection-1106-20131105-1,0,6693720.story |archive-date=November 6, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Following the death of Sen. John Miller, Mason ran and won election to the Virginia State Senate for District 1 in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fain|first=Travis|url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/politics/dp-nws-election-senate-1-20161108-story.html|title=Mason wins Miller's old Senate seat|work=Daily Press|publisher=dailypress.com|access-date=July 14, 2019|date=November 8, 2016|language=en}}</ref> For the 2018 legislative session, Senator Mason sat on three committees: General Laws & Technology; Rehabilitation & Social Services; and, Agriculture, Conservation, & Natural Resources.

In the 2023 Virginia Senate election, he was redistricted to the 24th district but was unseated by Republican Danny Diggs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-08 |title=Republican Danny Diggs beats incumbent Monty Mason in Va.'s 24th Senate District race |url=https://www.wtkr.com/news/politics/republican-danny-diggs-beats-incumbent-monty-mason-in-va-s-24th-senate-district-race |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=News 3 WTKR Norfolk |language=en}}</ref>

== Electoral history== {| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan="4" |State Senate General Election in 1st District, 2016 <ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical.elections.virginia.gov/elections/view/80942/|title=2016 Senate of Virginia Democratic General District 1|publisher=historical.elections.virginia.gov|access-date=August 1, 2016}}</ref> |- |'''Party''' |'''Candidate''' |'''Votes''' |'''%''' |- |Democrat |'''T. Montgomery Mason''' |49,251 |58.1% |- |Republican |Thomas Richard Holston |31,740 |37.4% |- |Independent |John Bernard Bloom |3,534 |4.2% |}

{| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan="4" |State Senate Primary Election in 1st District, 2016 <ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical.elections.virginia.gov/elections/view/80607/|title=2016 Senate of Virginia Democratic Primary District 1|publisher=historical.elections.virginia.gov|access-date=June 13, 2016}}</ref> |- |'''Party''' |'''Candidate''' |'''Votes''' |'''%''' |- |Democrat |'''T. Montgomery Mason''' |3,498 |57.4% |- |Democrat |Shelly Anne Simonds |2,590 |42.5% |}

{| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan="4" |House of Delegates General Election in 93rd District, 2015 <ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical.elections.virginia.gov/elections/view/66533/|title=2015 House of Delegates of Virginia General Election District 93|publisher=historical.elections.virginia.gov|access-date=November 3, 2015}}</ref> |- |'''Party''' |'''Candidate''' |'''Votes''' |'''%''' |- |Democrat |'''T. Montgomery Mason''' |8,910 |54.7% |- |Republican |Lara Shearin Overy |7,354 |45.1% |}

{| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan="4" |House of Delegates General Election in 93rd District, 2013 <ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical.elections.virginia.gov/elections/view/44080/|title=2013 House of Delegates of Virginia General Election District 93|publisher=historical.elections.virginia.gov|access-date=November 7, 2013}}</ref> |- |'''Party''' |'''Candidate''' |'''Votes''' |'''%''' |- |Democrat |'''T. Montgomery Mason''' |12,132 |52.1% |- |Republican |Michael Bowen Watson (inc.) |11,094 |47.6% |}

==Personal life== Mason is a resident of Williamsburg, Virginia.<ref name=wy>{{cite web|author=Amber Lester Kennedy |url=http://wydaily.com/2012/11/19/city-eda-chair-to-run-for-93rd-delegate-seat/ |title=City EDA Chair to Run for 93rd Delegate Seat &#124; Williamsburg Yorktown Daily |publisher=Wydaily.com |access-date=November 8, 2013}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{CongLinks | congbio= | votesmart=144854 | fec= | congress= }}<!-- Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template: * [http://ballotpedia.org/T._Monty_Mason Biography] at Ballotpedia * --> *{{C-SPAN|122136}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-va-hs}} {{s-bef|before=Michael Watson}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the Virginia House of Delegates <br/> from the 93rd district|years=2014–2016}} {{s-aft|after=Michael Mullin}} |- {{s-par|us-va-sen}} {{s-bef|before=John Miller }} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the Virginia Senate <br/> from the 1st district|years=2016–2024}} {{s-aft|after=Timmy French}} {{s-end}}

{{Virginia State Senators (1st district)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Monty}} Category:Living people Category:Democratic Party Virginia state senators Category:Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Category:People from Farmville, Virginia Category:Politicians from Williamsburg, Virginia Category:College of William & Mary alumni Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:1967 births Category:21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly

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