Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate in Tuesday's legislative election. This…
- Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate in Tuesday’s legislative election
- This is the third election in a row that Virginia Democrats have made significant gains since President Donald Trump was elected
- Â The win will give Democrats control of the legislature and governorship for the first time in 26 years
Virginia Democrats are taking full control of the statehouse for the first time in more than two decades.
Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate in Tuesday’s legislative election. This is the third election in a row that Virginia Democrats have made significant gains since President Donald Trump was elected.
The win will give Democrats control of the legislature and governorship for the first time in 26 years. Democrats have pledged to pass new gun restrictions and raise the minimum wage once in power.
Virginia is the only state with legislative elections this year where partisan control was up for grabs. Much of the contest centered on how voters feel about Trump and his possible impeachment.
Democrats flipped the Senate on Tuesday, for the first time in five years.
Prior to the election, Republicans had a slim majority in both the state House and Senate, but voter animosity toward Trump has powered Democratic gains in Virginia in recent elections.
Ghazala Hashmi, a community college administrator and first-time candidate had unseated Republican incumbent Sen. Glen Sturtevant in the competitive Richmond-area state Senate race, in a key win for Democrats hoping to flip control of the Senate.
Hashmi campaigned heavily on education, gun violence prevention, and health care, criticizing Sturtevant for his vote against Medicaid expansion.
Hashmi immigrated to the U.S. from India as a child. The state party says she will be the first Muslim-American woman to serve in the Senate.
Sturtevant, an attorney, took office in 2016. He promised to be an independent voice in the Senate and made opposition to a Richmond city schools rezoning plan a key part of his campaign.
Clinton Jenkins, an Army veteran who runs a real estate company, defeated Del. Chris Jones, one of the state’s most powerful Republican lawmakers to earn a seat in the Virginia House.
As chairman of the House appropriations committee, Jones has outsized influence in how Virginia spends its money every year. A pharmacist from Suffolk, he has served in the House since 1998.
Jones and Jenkins competed in a district redrawn after courts found that the GOP-led Virginia House illegally packed black voters into certain districts. The new map shifted the makeup of the district to Democrats’ advantage.
Democrat Shelly Simonds defeated Republican Del. David Yancey in Tuesday’s race for the 94th District. The contest was a rematch after Simonds lost the tiebreaker two years ago.
The district was recently redrawn by a federal court, making it friendly to Democrats.
Del. John Bell on Tuesday defeated GOP opponent Geary Higgins, whom President Donald Trump endorsed in a tweet earlier in the week.
His win marks a pickup for Democrats who are trying to wrest control of the Senate from Republicans. The seat was left open after far-right Sen. Dick Black announced he would not seek re-election in the district that covers Loudoun and Prince William counties.
Bell, a retired Air Force officer, has served in the House since 2016.
Higgins is a member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and vice president of labor relations for the National Electrical Contractors Association
Donald Trump was clearly on the minds of some Virginia voters casting ballots to decide which party controls the statehouse.
So, anybody get a dose of reality yet?
Absolutely a dose of reality. Perhaps a sign of dark times for America. Preventable but self imposed. Sad. Keep rocking the message John B. It is very much needed.