The Virginia General Assembly will be controlled by Democrats for the first time in 20 years after yesterday's election. Now, with the Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General all being Democrats as well, Virginia is firmly a "Blue State" and the Democratic Party can now pass any legislation or regulation on party line votes or through executive orders.  

The House is now represented by 55 Democrats and 45 Republicans.  The Senate is now represented by 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans.  This is a slim majority but Democrats have demonstrated remarkable party discipline over the years, so one should expect them to continue to vote as a single block.  The only variation on this count could result from a pending recount in HD83 where Delegate Chris Stolle trails his Democratic challenger by only 18 votes.  This is the same race where  a group started by New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg reportedly invested  $348,400 into the challenger's campaign - Nancy Guy.   Regardless of the outcome of this potential recount, it would only reduce the Democrats to a four seat majority in the House.

The House of Delegates election will also have another historic impact on the Commonwealth that has been somewhat overshadowed.  Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, currently the House Minority Leader, is expected to become the first female Speaker of the House of Delegates in its 400 years of continuous operation. Regardless of one's politics, this is an impressive accomplishment.

The challenge for Virginia's business community is to determine how Democrats will use this new found power?

As the VMA has previously reported, a majority of House and Senate Democrats now oppose Virginia's Right-to-Work statute.  Now that they have the ability to overturn the 5th oldest Right-to-Work state in the U.S., will they?  Further, will they mandate a $15 minimum wage?  Will they repeal the " Dillon Rule" or confer additional taxing authority to local governments?  Will they create new taxes on electricity?  Will they create new taxes on fuel?  Will they pursue "free college for all"? Will they regulate the environment and businesses like California?

These are all valid questions that have been asked repeatedly by members over the last year.  However, there are mixed responses from senior Democrats because they have to consider the new progressive wing of their party. Senior Democrats are also conscious of how fast a majority can be lost.  The Virginia Senate has flipped between Democratic and Republican control several times in the last 20 years.  

For the VMA, the path forward is to be prepared, build coalitions, and aggressively advocate for foundational public policies that ensure  manufacturing competitiveness.  We have already helped to form the Coalition for a Strong Virginia Economy with a dozen other trade associations focused on protecting Virginia's Right-to-Work statute.  We are working with the American Chemistry Council on bipartisan efforts to reduce plastics pollution while increasing recycling for beneficial use.  We also expect a larger coalition effort to protect affordable and reliable energy through coordination with the  Consumer Energy Alliance.

Sincerely,