Control of both chambers of the Virginia legislature is up for grabs. Here's what is at stake
While there are no statewide races on the ballot in Virginia, every legislator in the commonwealth is up for reelection.
If Republicans can maintain control of the House of Delegates and overcome the narrow Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s party would have full control of state government for the first time in a decade.
Abortion has been a major issue in the campaigns, as Democrats pitch themselves as the last defense against the 15-week abortion ban Youngkin has promoted.
Education has also come to the forefront in the final weeks of the campaign, as advertisers from both parties have produced more unique ads referencing education than either abortion or crime, according to AdImpact data. The fight over Virginia schools was a major issue in the state’s 2021 election when Youngkin flipped the governor’s mansion and the House of Delegates.
These will be the first elections in Virginia conducted under the state’s post-2020 census legislative maps.
During the 2020 election, Virginia voters approved a redistricting reform which created a commission made up of both citizens and politicians. However, the commission stalemated and the state Supreme Court drew maps instead. Those maps didn’t take incumbency into consideration, so many sitting members of the legislature ended up in unfamiliar districts or paired with their colleagues.
The competitive races in Virginia will largely take place in three main regions of the state: The outer Washington, DC, suburbs like Fredericksburg, Prince William, Loudon and Stafford Counties, the suburbs of Richmond in Henrico County and the Hampton Roads region in the southeastern part of the state.
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