Virginia Legislative Elections Guide 2023

All 140 seats in Virginia’s legislature will be up for grabs in November. The Republicans currently control the House of Delegates 51-46; the Democrats control the Senate 22-18. Your votes will determine Virginia’s future. Here’s a look at what both parties have done.

In 2020-2021, the Democrats controlled the governorship and both houses of the legislature and were able to pass major legislation, as described below. Beginning in 2022, control became split; the Republicans controlled the House and the governorship, while the Democrats controlled the Senate. Neither party has been able to pass major partisan legislation, but in 2022 passed a nearly unanimous two-year budget with new education spending and almost $4 billion in tax cuts, as well as other bills. Unless otherwise noted, this guide describes mostly party-line votes, or near party-line votes, primarily from the past four years. It also includes some major bills Republicans passed in 2012-2013, the last time they controlled the governorship and both houses of the Assembly.