Born in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] and raised in northern Virginia, he attended the [[University of Notre Dame]] on an [[ROTC]] scholarship. During his twenty-one years in the [[army]], McDonnell spent four years running a medical clinic in [[Germany]]. After marrying and raising a family, he graduated from Regent University in Virginia Beach in 1989 with a law degree and became a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. McDonnell was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1992, defeating a twenty-year incumbent. He would go on to be reelected seven times, and would rise to the position of Assistant [[Majority Leader]] and Chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee. During his tenure he passed parental notification law for [[abortion]]s, drunk driving laws and legislation to abolish the death tax. | Born in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] and raised in northern Virginia, he attended the [[University of Notre Dame]] on an [[ROTC]] scholarship. During his twenty-one years in the [[army]], McDonnell spent four years running a medical clinic in [[Germany]]. After marrying and raising a family, he graduated from Regent University in Virginia Beach in 1989 with a law degree and became a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. McDonnell was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1992, defeating a twenty-year incumbent. He would go on to be reelected seven times, and would rise to the position of Assistant [[Majority Leader]] and Chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee. During his tenure he passed parental notification law for [[abortion]]s, drunk driving laws and legislation to abolish the death tax. |