Democrats swept the statewide races and massacred Republicans in the House of Delegates. (The new House will be 64 Democrats and 36 Republicans.) Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, can do anything she wants. How will she govern? She campaigned as a moderate, but how will she respond to the demands of Virginia’s ascendant left wing?
Readers, hold forth in the comments.
by Dick Hall-Sizemore
Yep, the polls were wrong. Democrats won much bigger than any predictions.
Not only did Spanberger win by over 14 points, Hashmi won by almost 10, and Jones, despite his texting scandal, had a comfortable margin of six points.
In the biggest surprise, Democrats flipped 13 House seats. Even Don Scott, Speaker of the House, did not expect this; he had predicted they would pick up four seats. When Bobby Orrock, who has represented Caroline County for almost as long as anyone familiar with the General Assembly can remember, is beaten by a Democrat by a healthy margin, you know that something major is going on.
There are a lot of Bacon Rebellion commenters in great despair this morning.
Save Virginia from left-wing radicals.
by Kerry Dougherty
Well, whaddya know, it’s Tuesday, November 4th. Election Day.
No matter how busy you are, no matter what’s going on, don’t sit this one out.
VOTE.
Especially if you love Virginia and don’t want our commonwealth to turn into an East-coast version of tax-mad, crime-ridden, gender and pronoun-obsessed California.
Remember how good it felt the day after the 2021 election, when Glenn Youngkin beat Terry McAuliffe and you knew that it was Independence Day in Virginia?
VOTE.
Remember how you woke up the morning after that historic election and knew the vaccine mandates that cost state workers their jobs were a thing of the past? You knew that statewide mask mandates were not coming back. You knew that parents were going to be heard at their kids’ schools and school officials would no longer be allowed to hide a child’s gender confusion from their parents. You knew that schools would focus on excellence instead of kowtowing to teachers’ unions. You knew that the parole board would not be turning murderers loose.
I could go on, but if you were in Virginia in November 2021, you remember the overweening tyranny of the Northam administration and his Democrat monopoly on the state house and how good it felt to shake it all off.
VOTE.
If all goes well – and if the polls are wrong – we’ll feel that sense of relief again tomorrow. Youngkin’s common-sense policies will continue with Winsome Earle-Sears.
She’ll be able to pump the brakes and veto the sick agenda the Democrats have in store for the commonwealth. Continue reading.
Voters go to the polls today without seeing the candidates debate critical issues ranging from redistricting to the energy crisis.
by Derrick Max
With election day now upon us, Virginia voters were short-changed this election cycle while Democracy is literally being threatened!
Virginians were limited to one, short, poorly controlled debate for Governor, one equally short, but slightly more substantive debate for Attorney General, and zero debates for Lt. Governor – unless, of course, you count the surreal spectacle of Republican nominee John Reid debating an AI version of Democrat Ghazala Hashmi after she refused over ten invitations to appear on stage with him.
Worse yet, Virginia’s extended, 45-day early voting rules robbed a half million voters of having even these two debates inform their vote as both were held well after early voting had already begun and votes were already cast.
Compounding the impact of this debate failure, is that the Democrats, just one week before the election, and after the two inadequate debates were over, called back their members to vote on an amendment to the state constitution to literally overthrow the will of Virginians who voted in 2020 in favor of a bipartisan commission to draw congressional maps. Democrats voted to ignore voters and return the Commonwealth’s redistricting process to the hands of a partisan map drawing cabal.
Such a monumental decision should have been a central topic of debate for candidates of all three of the Commonwealth’s statewide offices. More importantly, voters should have had more time to hear from their State Delegates on this issue as they will have the most say over the future of this troubling amendment.
(more…)by Kerry Dougherty
These are scary times in Virginia. If you believe the political polls – and there’s no reason you should, they’ve been wildly wrong for years in the Old Dominion – we may be about to fork over all of state government to radical leftists.
It’s almost as if voters have forgotten what happened a short five years ago when Democrat Ralph Northam shut down schools for more than a year, locked us out of our churches and synagogues and forced even five-year- olds to walk around in filthy, useless face diapers.
God help us all if there’s another public emergency during a Spanberger governorship.
But even without a pandemic a Governor Spanberger would be dangerous. For a start she wants to dismantle Virginia’s Right-To-Work laws, so if you’ve dreamed of being forced to join a union, this is definitely your girl. Continue reading.
by Paul Goldman
As a general rule, a big underdog like the VA GOP gubernatorial nominee would gain a few points as the campaigned closed. But the polls are indicating a move towards the Democrats. If true, this could be enough to lift the struggling Democratic LG and AG nominees to victory.
Historical statistical analysis says there should be a Democratic sweep if Spanberger wins by more than nine points. Based on the 2017 statewide contest held in the shadow of a Trump presidency, a 10-point or more win would seem expected. In this regard, the mediocre approval ratings given GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin also has contributed to the Spanberger margin. The Youngkin aides promoting him as presidential timber must’ve grown up on Easter Island, where all the forest is long gone. The so-called “Youngkin Brand“ hardly seems useful in 2028 if it gets wiped out in his home state. Thus, his relatively lack of engagement seemed odd.
The best Democratic gubernatorial candidate performance in the modern era occurred in 1985. Democrat Jerry Baliles won by slightly more than 10%. As I said months ago, the historical statistics indicated Spanberger should break Jerry’s record. At the time the polls were suggesting the gubernatorial race would be close. This never made historical statistical sense.
In terms of the political chessboard, one has to say Spanberger’s team ran an exceptionally disciplined race. I have criticized them for leaving her running mates twisting in the wind, at least by campaign standards when I used to run campaigns. In my book, it was unnecessary in relation to her winning big. But that being said, she had the right to do it and for her it’s clearly been the right move.
(more…)
And the discoveries that follow
by Gordon C. Morse
With state elections bearing down on them, Democratic Party leaders of the General Assembly brought everyone to Richmond last week, all in the cause of a constitutional amendment to allow, in mid-decade, a reconfiguration of Virginia’s congressional districts.
Virginia Senate elections lie two years off, but Tuesday will reset the entire 100-member House, one way or another. Should the Democrats retain their majority in the House, Speaker Don Scott may become the first Speaker in a decade to succeed himself. That tells you something about present legislative stability in historically stable Virginia.
So, was this work in Richmond last week the best use of everyone’s time?
If you say no, you might conclude that the Democrats have collectively lost their minds.
But is the answer no? If everything, everywhere, touching upon everyone, is polarized and all politics is now national politics, then perhaps the Democrats were doing precisely what they needed to do. They were reminding Virginia that they, as a party, oppose President Trump and whatever Trump represents.
(more…)
by David J. Toscano
October is a month for football games, falling leaves — and political surprises. In Virginia, surprises abound — and not just from the University of Virginia’s football team (now sporting an 8-1 record).
First, there was the publication of damaging and inappropriate texts from Democrat Jay Jones in the Attorney General race. For most of the campaign, former Delegate Jones led incumbent Miyares, successfully tying him to the president who has fired Virginia federal employees and attacked the Affordable Care Act. Then came publication of the messages Jones sent several years ago to a Republican colleague sarcastically discussing the use of violence against political opponents — messages the GOP withheld until Democrats could not replace Jones on the fall ballot even if they wanted to.
Jones repeatedly apologized and insists that he is better able to defend the state against Trump excesses while advancing Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s agenda. Republicans have pummeled Jones and demanded that Spanberger withdraw her endorsement. Spanberger countered by rightfully condemning the remarks and correctly explaining that the voters need to decide the race. Voters now must weigh Jones’s comments against the Miyares record.
Miyares is not only an outspoken defender of Trump and the MAGA agenda but has not chosen to join other Attorneys General to oppose specific administration policies like cuts in federal employment, research grants, and Medicaid, even if they affect Virginians. He shows no indication that he will defend our universities against federal interference. In the end, elections are contests between two persons and who is most likely to defend the institutions and policies that we hold dear.
What to watch on election day
Jones’s fortunes are linked to Spanberger’s performance. If she wins by 9 points (Northam’s margin in 2017), her coattails will be long enough to bring him across the finish line. If the victory is closer to 5 points, a win will be more challenging.
(more…)by Aurelius Grimm
The electoral stakes in Virginia this year are not existential in the sense of national survival. No one is claiming the Commonwealth is about to fall off the map. But the stakes are extraordinarily significant for one overriding reason: there is no moderating force left on the left.
When Democrats held total power in Richmond from 2018 through 2021, they didn’t hesitate. They didn’t govern cautiously or temper their agenda to win broad support. They ran through everything they could, with no guardrails, no brakes, and no concern for the damage left behind.
We saw it. They closed our schools. Governor Ralph Northam ordered churches shuttered while keeping the bars open. They tried to ban the most common sporting rifles in the United States. They opened the jail doors, and there are people dead today who would still be alive if not for the “early release” policies that Democrats rammed through.
And rather than focus on lowering power bills or ensuring reliable electricity, Democrats made it clear their number one priority is “fighting climate change.” Never mind that Virginia’s contribution to global emissions is minuscule, completely swamped by Communist China. They were—and still are—willing to make life more expensive and energy less reliable for working families in service of an agenda that accomplishes nothing measurable.
This is the core problem: there is no moderating voice left in their coalition. The activist base is in charge, and it will not leave people alone to live their own lives. (more…)
by Hans Bader
Last May, Virginia’s Republican Governor, Glenn Youngkin, vetoed a bill to allow all counties to raise the sales tax by 1%. Virginia’s Democratic legislature tried to override his veto, but fell short of the two-thirds vote needed to do so, in a 25-to-15 vote in the state senate.
Analysts said most local governments would have raised their sales tax had the bill become law. That’s because local sales taxes are paid partly by non-residents, giving municipalities an incentive to tax each other’s citizens by raising the sales tax. If a municipality raises its local sales tax, it keeps all of the revenue, but its residents don’t pay all of the cost — people from outside the municipality who can’t vote against the tax do.
If the bill had become law, taxes would have risen further in Virginia, a state that already had higher-than-average tax rates, according to the Tax Foundation.
Now, Democrats are favored to win the governor’s race in Virginia, although there is a very close race for state attorney general, and several state legislative races will be very close. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows the Democratic candidate for governor leading by a comfortable 9%, while Republican attorney general Jason Miyares is barely ahead of his Democratic challenger, leading Democrat Jay Jones by a razor-thin 1.6% margin. The Democrats’ lead in the governor’s race is fueled by the deep unpopularity in Virginia of Donald Trump.
(more…)by Joseph D. Elie
As we approach the culmination of the 2025 election season this Tuesday, political prognosticators in Virginia perceive the races for governor and lieutenant governor to be tightening. Both contests are remarkable for the stark contrast of style and substance between the candidates, especially those vying to lead the state senate as lieutenant governor.
John Reid has a broad background in business and politics while Ghazala Hashmi is a former academic elected to the state senate in 2019. Reid has been itinerant and tireless on the hustings, canvassing the entirety of the Commonwealth since relinquishing his popular talk radio show in January. Hashmi, reclusive in comparison to Reid, has perhaps been trying to find her muse while she dodges debates and holds press conferences by invitation only.
Recently, the Islam-promoting political action committee Emgage Action and its website Defend & Advance proclaimed Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral front-runner, and Ghazala Hashmi to be their “Star Candidates.” The PAC, which mobilizes Muslims for “collective action,” has been linked to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is considered by many to be associated with advocating for Islamic supremacy.
Questions now naturally arise for these two Muslim candidates as they cultivate their disparate electorates. How similar are they on the issues? Does Hashmi think Mamdani’s views are shared by the majority of Virginians? Do Mamdani and Hashmi agree with Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones that “only when people feel pain personally do they then move on to policy?”
(more…)
by David Greenberg
The graphic above appears on the website of Defend & Advance, a national organization “advocating for Muslim voices.” States the website (my bold):
Our Priorities:
We have long fought for compassionate advocates for Muslims to be heard in mainstream discourse, and the time has come for us to protect and support these voices more than ever.
Question: What is lieutenant governor-candidate Ghazala Hashmi’s “vision for human rights and justice”? Does she believe that Muslims have been “marginalized and oppressed” in Virginia?
Question: To what extent does “star-candidate” Hashmi share the critique of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, of capitalism, American society and the Israel-Palestine conflict?
No one knows because she has steadfastly refused to debate her opponent John Reid.
David Greenberg lives in the Richmond area.
By Paul Goldman
We finally smoked out the truth about redistricting. As I have written, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, the presumptive Governor-elect, could win or lose depending upon how the politics play out. But House Speaker Don Scott wins no matter what. I didn’t think he had the cajones to do it. My bad. Not going to make that mistake again.
Scott’s plan would scrap Virginia’s nonpartisan redistricting process and, contingent upon Republican redistricting initiatives in other states, replace it with gerrymandered congressional districts. Spanberger has pretended not to be part of Scott’s plan. But it requires her to sign a bill allowing for a redistricting referendum — risking her reputation and the success of her four-year term in the process.
Two successive legislatures must adopt a resolution to put before the voters. Time is tight — the 2026 elections are just one year away — and extraordinary political measures will be called for. To reverse the electorate’s vote in 2020 to create a nonpartisan process, Spanberger (assuming she gets elected) will have to go full-bore super-partisan.
(more…)
View more memes at The Bull Elephant
by Hans Bader
“Under Governor Glenn Youngkin, Virginia created a new permitting dashboard, and cut permit processing times by 72%. The state’s attracted $125 billion in capital investment since 2022. Conservative abundance at work,” notes Russ Greene of Stand Together.
The National Review adds that under Youngkin, Virginia “occupational license approval times declined from 33 days to 5 days. Stormwater permitting reforms saved $124 million.” And “Department of Environmental Quality permit processing times declined by 70%.”
When people don’t have an occupational license due to bureaucratic delays, they can’t work or support their families. Their lack of employment reduces the income tax revenue that pays for schools, roads, and law enforcement. So speeding up licensing and permitting, as Youngkin has done, is very important.
Governor Youngkin’s regulatory reforms have saved Virginians $1.2 billion per year, and cut the cost of building a home by $24,000 on average, by eliminating obsolete regulations not required by Virginia law.
“Since 2022, Virginia has reduced the number of requirements in its regulatory code by 26.8 percent, exceeding Youngkin’s goal of 25 percent. He says his administration is on pace to reach a 33 percent reduction by the end of his term early next year. The reduction in regulatory word count is even greater: 11.5 million words were struck, nearly half of the total found in state guidance documents,” the National Review says.
(more…)The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….
This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.
Bacon’s Rebellion is Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy. Read more about us here.
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