Don Scott (1965 - )

Portsmouth

Legislator and Speaker of the House of Delegates

Don Scott grew up in Texas with five brothers and sisters who were raised by his single mother. He worked his way through college, earning a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University in 1987. He joined the Navy and served on a destroyer as both a surface warfare officer and the ship’s legal officer, which inspired him to study law at Louisiana State University after leaving active duty in 1991. In 2002, Scott found employment with a workforce development company that brought him to Norfolk, where he provided job training and support for recipients of public assistance. He sought to return to the law, passed the Virginia bar exam in 2014 and was admitted to the bar a year later. In 2015, he opened his own law practice.

Scott entered public life when he decided to run for the House of Delegates representing the city of Portsmouth. Since that first election in 2019, he has had a meteoric rise from freshman to Minority Leader by his second term. After Democrats won the majority in 2023, Scott was unanimously selected by his colleagues as the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates in the 405-year history of Virginia’s legislature. Scott has made his mark running a tight ship and is known for being efficient and tough but fair to his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.


2025 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History honoree, Library of Virginia and Dominion Energy.

Watch Don Scott's recorded remarks shown at the Dominion Energy reception honoring the 2025 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History honorees on February 6, 2025.

Photograph courtesy Commonwealth of Virginia.