Tara Durant

Tara Anne Durant (born October 26, 1972) is an American politician who is a member of the Virginia Senate from the 27th district. Elected in November 2021, she assumed office on January 12, 2022. She is a Republican.

Early life and education
Durant was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1972. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and political science from Coe College and attended the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Career
Outside of politics, Durant has worked as an educator in Iowa and Virginia. She was a teacher at the Holy Cross Academy in Stafford County from 2017 to 2021 and works as a librarian at the school. She was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2021, defeating incumbent Democrat Joshua G. Cole. She assumed office on January 12, 2022.

Controversy
Durant prompted her entry into politics by claiming she and her daughter were attacked by an "angry mob" of Black Lives Matter protesters. However, Durant's narrative has proved inconsistent. Police records describe the protest as peaceful, with an aggressive car pointing in the direction of protesters at the same location as Durant's. Additionally, Durant's 911 call indicates she threatened to hit protesters with her car as well as a person on her car's hood was a 13-year-old, unrelated to the protest. Durant's attempt to press charges against two teenagers, one of which that was not at the protest, for car assault failed, raising questions about the accuracy of her narrative. Durant and her staff have ignored calls to respond to these inconsistencies and allegations.