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Hopeful Democrats Make Plans for Richmond

David Toscano

The outcome of a House of Delegates race which has been declared a tie now rests on the board of elections drawing one name from a hat.  If the Democrat, Shelly Simonds, is declared the winner, there will be 50 delegates from each major party, and the top Democrat in that chamber is making plans.

If the Democrat’s name is drawn, party leader David Toscano is ready to move on several issues.

"I am hopeful that we’re going to get some expansion of Medicaid to help the 400,000 Virginians who are in the coverage gap right now," he says. "If we can get a couple of people come over to our side, we could possibly get this done.”

He would also like to see some modest gun control laws enacted – maybe, for example, limiting buyers to one firearm per month.

“You’re not going to see a lot of the very bad gun bills that we’ve seen in years past, for example trying to put guns in schools," Toscano predicts. "Those bills will likely be bottled up in committee.  You are going to probably see some reasonable gun safety legislation be able to get to the House floor for a vote.”

And even if Shelly Simonds is not the lottery winner, Toscano says Democrats could share power evenly with Republicans if a new vote is ordered in the 28th  district in response to a lawsuit.

“There’s a district in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area where people were actually given the wrong ballot and voted in the wrong district, so you’ve got at least 147 people who were essentially disenfranchised, and I think it’s a suit that we potentially could win,” he explains.

There’s no word yet on when the state board of elections will draw a name to settle the Newport News area race or when the courts might hear the Democrats’ call for a new vote in the Stafford and Fredericksburg area.  

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief