The state of the Commonwealth is strong, says Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin— the former businessman who became governor.
In his final State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday night, Youngkin touted successes during his administration, particularly in education, fighting fentanyl, and job creation.
"Virginia is now a leader in life sciences, a leader in advanced manufacturing, a leader powering some of the most critical industries and supply chains where made in America once again means made in Virginia."
He says he's leaving Virginia with a surplus.
"And record revenue that enabled $9 billion in tax relief and still historic investments across every critical area," Youngkin told legislators. "And throughout 2025, many predicted financial calamity not only has financial calamity not happened, but once again Virginia is running a significant surplus."
But that surplus has a downside, says Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell.
"The Medicaid forecast was off by billions of dollars. The K-12 forecast requires nearly a billion dollars, and thanks to Trump and Republicans in Congress we have to find another billion dollars because of tax changes they made at the federal level while pushing down even more Medicaid expenses and SNAP costs and everything else on us. The governor has not let us with a sustainable budget environment," Surovell concluded. "We're going to have to work very hard to balance our budget."
Virginia has a two-year budget, so the outgoing governor gets to propose a spending plan as he leave office but members of the General Assembly and the next governor, Abigail Spanberger, are poised to throw that budget into the trash can and start over next week, after the inauguration Saturday.
Democrats say Youngkin's chief legacy will be helping them gain a historic majority.
"I'm a fan of the governor and his politics because it has allowed us to continue to grow our majority and show the contrast between Democrats and Republicans. We ran on affordability," House Speaker Don Scott noted. "We ran on making people's lives better. They talked a lot about culture issues and things that didn't resonate with voters."
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
