20 members of the House of Delegates are retiring and saying goodbye to the General Assembly. And seven House Democrats and five House Republicans are hoping to move over to the other side of the Capitol, leaving their House districts in the hopes of getting elected to the state Senate.
Republican Senator Jill Vogel of Fauquier County is one of the nine senators who are retiring this year rather than seeking reelection.
"I think the Senate is going to look shockingly different. And it's the consequence of retirements. It will be a consequence of challenges and elections," Vogel says. "It’s the consequence of, in fact, redistricting. And so, I think in the House, where you have 100 people, some of that turnover, while it can be jarring, is not as disruptive as it is on the Senate side."
Lamont Bagby is a Democrat from Richmond who recently moved from the House to the Senate to fill a seat vacated by Jennifer McClellan when she was elected to Congress.
"Some of them decided they didn't want to be paired with a colleague and run in a campaign where they will be opposing a colleague who they have worked alongside for so many years," Bagby explains. "I certainly know what that feels like and that consideration and respect that. But you also have a number of individuals that have decided it's time."
Bagby is currently the least senior member of the Senate ranking at number 40 out of 40. But next year, he'll gain quite a lot of instant seniority when about a third of the Senate seats are expected to be represented by new faces.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
