Chase: 'Praying' for Morrissey, but does not want to see him censured like she was

RICHMOND — As the last state senator to be reprimanded by her colleagues for activities outside of her sworn service duties, Amanda Chase says she has empathy for what Sen. Joe Morrissey is going through amidst public clamor over his personal life. One thing, however, she will not do is push for sanctions against him like what she faced.

In a phone interview with The Progress-Index Wednesday afternoon, the Chesterfield Republican said she does not want to see, nor would she push for, Senate censure of Morrissey over controversies surrounding a bitter custody battle with his estranged wife and, most recently, his 90-day ban from a central Virginia jail complex over reports of rude behavior toward a deputy.

"We're people, too," Chase said. "Whatever personal issues he's going through have nothing to do with what he does in the Senate."

Chase noted that all 140 Virginia General Assembly seats are up for election this November, and if his constituents are displeased with Morrissey's actions, that would be settled at the ballot box. Both she and Morrissey are facing June primary challengers in their newly redrawn Senate districts.

Morrissey, who's never shied away from acknowledging past issues involving political and personal relationships, has taken two very public hits in the past month over life away from the state Capitol.

Right before the start of the 2023 legislative session, Myrna Pride Morrissey put up a series of Instagram posts where she accused her husband of numerous infidelities before and during their marriage. The Morrisseys were married in 2016 and separated three years later. Joe Morrissey claimed that the Instagram posts were payback for accusations he made against Pride Morrissey and her boyfriend of abusing their youngest son.

In the latest controversy from last weekend, Henrico Sheriff Alisa Gregory said she has banned Morrissey from the county jail complex for 90 days after he left his young children unattended while he and an associate met with an inmate. According to a statement from Gregory, Morrissey cursed at a deputy after being confronted over the unattended kids, using the F-word several times.

Chase, who said she texted Morrissey "to tell him I was praying for him," does not draw any parallels between his controversies and what she was censured for two years ago.

"My stuff was not personal," Chase said. "It was political."

In 2021, the Senate voted 24-9, largely along party lines, to discipline her for conduct "unbecoming of a state legislator. Chase, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, was stripped of her seniority and rebuked over what was deemed inflammatory remarks about the January 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol [Chase spoke at a rally the morning of the Capitol rush but had left Washington by the time it started] and personal battles with Republican Senate leadership and the Senate clerk.

More:Senate censures Amanda Chase Wednesday over comments, actions 'unbecoming' of a legislator

The censure, which Morrissey as a Democrat voted for, stripped Chase of her legislative seniority but did not force her out of office.

Chase said she would not wish what she went through on any of her colleagues. She also said she has made peace with what happened.

"I didn't think I was deserving of it, but I've kind of moved on," Chase said. "I just focus now on what I'm supposed to be doing. I refuse to be a victim, and my heart goes out to him and his family."

More:Petersburg casino referendum bill passed by Senate committee but with a wage-guarantee caveat

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Va. senator says she will not push for censure against colleague