Democrats are hopeful that they'll be able to capitalize on sentiment against President Trump in the statewide election this year.
The last time Donald Trump was in the White House, Democrats had two wave elections and took control of the House of Delegates for the first time in a generation. Now, they may be poised to once again take advantage of the backlash. David Ramadan at George Mason University's Schar School says 2025 will be a blue wave.
"The question is how big of a wave," he says. "If it is a regular election without a huge difference in the numbers on the top of the ticket, then Democrats are likely to pick up at least a couple of seats in the House of Delegates. If this turns out to be a double-digit wave, then they could pick up all the way up to 10 or 12 seats in the House of Delegates."
Democrats currently have a one-vote majority in the House, so adding to their numbers will give them more breathing room for members to vote against the leadership – or even miss a few votes because members are sick or out of town. Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says Democrats have a structural advantage running in an environment where Trump is so unpopular.
"It's a favorable environment for Democrats. The Democratic majority should be bigger than it's been in 30 years come next January," Farnsworth says.
Republicans are hoping they can cut into a potential blue wave by talking about ending the car tax or protecting the right to work, but Democrats feel cautiously optimistic this will be their year to sweep all three statewide seats and add to their majority in the House.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
