This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D–Portsmouth) says Democrats would act with restraint while simultaneously claiming his chamber's near-supermajority has a mandate to enact an agenda.
Democrats already have hundreds of pieces of legislation that could be reintroduced in the 2026 General Assembly session: the bills that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed over the past four years, spanning the gamut from a commercial recreational marijuana market to paid family and medical leave to regulations for plastic bag taxes.
Scott's majority in the House of Delegates will expand from 51 seats to 64, according to unofficial results. As he said to press on Wednesday, "We saw a little wave, but we didn't see this doggone tsunami."
Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman, won by 14 percentage points. On Thursday, appearing with Youngkin, she said her mandate would look "consistent" with what she proposed on the campaign trail. (All election results are technically unofficial until certified by the state.)
"Specifically in policy priorities, in increasing housing supply, lowering costs in housing, in energy and ultimately in health care," Spanberger said. "Obviously, there's going to be some challenges along the way, with some of the impacts of some federal legislation on the state."
Spanberger also made other promises on election night: having large energy consumers, like data centers, "pay their fair share," investing in apprenticeship programs and job training, and cracking down on "predatory pharmaceutical practices and surprise billing."
Heather Evans, chair of the political science department at the University of Virginia's College at Wise, said policy differences between Spanberger and Democratic legislators might be behind the paradoxical nature of claiming a mandate and restraint at the same time.
"The Democrats are realizing the one person at the top of the ticket, Spanberger, is considered a moderate," she said. "I think that Democrats are also seeing that as a winning strategy."
Scott, Spanberger and the narrow Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate will have to contend with billions of dollars in new costs for the state if they want to preserve current levels of government services.
State agencies have forecasted $3.2 billion in extra Medicaid costs due to actions coming out of Washington, alongside a potential $2 billion hit to state tax collections based on federal changes.
Additionally, uncertainty surrounds the level of federal funding for Virginia's school systems, and the progressive Commonwealth Institute has estimated that the state will need to pay up to $352 million due to changes in food assistance.
Jennifer Victor, a political science professor at George Mason University, said claims of mandates tend to be overstated, but that the Democrats are in a good position to enact their agenda.
"Just having that robust single party control will give them the capacity to try things that they wouldn't have been able to go for otherwise," said Victor. "It doesn't mean there won't be political opposition, or that change will be fast and easy, but it certainly makes it more likely."
Republicans exiting the House painted a bleak picture on social media.
"Yesterday, radical Leftists claimed victory," wrote outgoing Petersburg Del. Kim Taylor, speaking of a "tyrannical" agenda. "Under a Democrat-controlled majority, the 82nd District and our Commonwealth will suffer greatly."
Taylor lost Tuesday against Kimberly Pope Adams, her 2023 opponent, by 7 percentage points.
"I guess now is as good as time as any to let the incoming government of Virginia know…I'm not handing over my guns," wrote outgoing Del. Nick Freitas (R–Culpeper), who will be succeeded by Republican Karen Hamilton in January.
Evans said, historically, those who lose elections typically say flattering things about their opponents, but the "more attack-style language" is new.
"We see that there has been an increase in that sort of language, not only during elections, but when they conclude," she said.
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