Members of the Virginia General Assembly are back in Richmond and back in session.
Governor Glenn Youngkin will kick off the 2026 General Assembly by delivering a primetime speech to a joint session of the House and Senate tonight at 7pm. Republican Senator Mark Peake of Lynchburg says he's expecting to hear Youngkin talk about his legacy as governor.
"Two major accomplishments are the return of almost $9 billion to the citizens of the Commonwealth in tax relief," Peake says. "And then I think another huge thing under the Youngkin administration will be economic development."
Like bringing pharmaceutical companies and LEGO to Virginia. Democrats say they’re looking forward to a future without Youngkin. State Senator Ghazala Hashmi is a Democrat who currently represents Richmond, although she's about to start presiding over the Senate chamber as lieutenant governor.
"These past several months have been incredibly challenging for so many of the families I represent," Hashmi says. "We are seeing increasing prices, whether it's in housing or the cost of food or electricity. Virginians are really looking for us to accomplish good things."
Youngkin will cease being governor on Saturday, when he'll officially hand over the keys to the Executive Mansion shortly before the inauguration of Virginia's first female governor – Abigail Spanberger.
You can hear Youngkin's final State of the Commonwealth address on Radio IQ beginning at 7pm.
