All 140 of Virginia’s state House and Senate seats are up for grabs next year. Democrats see a roadmap to increasing their majorities based on this month’s election results.
“All nine of those folks should be on notice. We’re coming for those seats,” said Virginia’s House Speaker Don Scott at a recent news conference featuring party leadership. He was referring to the nine House of Delegates districts he says voted for Democratic Senator Mark Warner earlier this month but are currently held by Republicans.
Scott said he already has candidates lined up to run for all 100 House seats, and any district currently held by a Republican will likely face attacks related to their support for President Donald Trump. If Scott gets his way, he hopes to increase Democratic representation from 64 seats to 73.
“They’re licking their chops in this environment to be able to run," Scott said of the would-be candidates. "They’ve seen what’s coming out of DC and they’ve seen no one in their community stand up to these folks.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surrovel is equally excited. He said Warner’s wins, and Democrats' pickups in the First and Second Congressional districts suggest there are six more Senate seats they could pick up, bringing their majority to 27 in the 40-seat chamber.
“We have people that have been inspired all across Virginia to run now that they’ve seen these results; they realize the wave is going to keep on rolling,” Surovell told Radio IQ.
Republican Tom Garrett’s 56th House District was not among Warner’s wins. He argued Democrats’ inability to deliver on affordability so far - and into next year when voters start going to the polls - will help them stave off Democrats’ advances.
“If you take the five bluest states and the five reddest states and you look at the price of the exact same staple food items, it’s 15 percent more.”
A final count of legislative districts won by Warner won't be official until the election is certified in early December.
