Virginia Dems projected to win control of legislature in blow to Youngkin's push for abortion ban
Virginia Democrats are projected to gain control of both chambers of the state legislature, likely defeating Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's plans to advance more Republican agenda items, including a 15-week abortion ban.
On Tuesday, all 140 seats in the Commonwealth's General Assembly were up for grabs in a nationally watched election, with Youngkin, who took office in 2022, hoping to see his party keep its majority in the House of Delegates while flipping the Senate.
But according to results reported by the Richmond-based WRIC News late Tuesday evening, Democrats have not only maintained a majority in the Senate but flipped the House of Delegates, holding slight majorities in both chambers.
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"Today, Democrats won in Virginia and protected reproductive freedom," Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted on Tuesday evening. "But make no mistake: Abortion and so many other fundamental freedoms are going to be on the ballot in 2024. That's why we need you to join our campaign."
In 2021, Republicans won the governorship and gained a majority in the House of Delegates, ending what had been, at that point, a 55-45 Democrat majority in the lower chamber.
Going into the election, the political campaign forecast website 270towin reported that Democrats were slated to win 18 uncontested seats, while Republicans were slated to win 14 uncontested seats.
In the run-up to the election, Democrats pushed pro-choice messages in much of their advertising, arguing that Republicans were going to ban abortion if they gained seats. According to Politico, Democratic television ads referenced abortion about 2.5 times more often than their second most mentioned issue, education.
For their part, Republicans rejected the claim that they were going to ban abortion, instead voicing support for a 15-week abortion ban, which would include exceptions for reasons like rape and incest.
"All the way up through birth is way too extreme," said Youngkin in advance of the election, as quoted by the Washington Examiner. "This is a place we can come together and settle on a very difficult topic, and I think we can lead here as opposed to fight."
"What's on the ballot, I think, is a choice between no limits and reasonable limits, and I think this is one where Virginians come together around reasonableness."
The election came as President Joe Biden had low ratings in the commonwealth, with a Washington Post-Schar School Virginia poll from last month reporting that 55% of Virginians disapproved of Biden's job performance, with 46% strongly disapproving.
