ROANOKE, Va. – There has been a shift in power in the Virginia legislature.
According to the Washington Post, Democrats have the majority in the House with 51 seats. Democrats also hold the majority in the Senate with 21 seats.
“I’m a little disappointed,” Governor Youngkin said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin shared his reaction to learning the General Assembly is now majority Democrat - a sharp loss for him.
“I think the biggest lesson is Virginia is really purple,” Youngkin said.
Despite the Democrats holding a majority in both the House and Senate, Youngkin said he still can move Virginia forward as a competitive place to work, play, and live.
“I am optimistic that we can find these most important areas to move forward,” Youngkin said.
Those areas include providing better educational opportunities for students when they graduate high school, safer communities, and tax relief for Virginia residents.
However, a challenge will be discussing how to address abortion in the Commonwealth.
“Abortion is one of the most difficult topics in Virginia and around the nation, and my hope is and continues to be is that we can find a way to come together,” Youngkin said.
Staff with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee – an organization that looks to elect Democrats in state and national elections – said Virginians disagreed with Governor Youngkin’s policy to ban abortion after 15 weeks.
“The Govenor’s desire, to ban abortions in the state of Virginia is also not popular but also created a momentum and level of enthusiasm he lost both chambers winning legislative control in Virginia is a huge win and undoubtedly the biggest prize on election night and this year,” Heather Williams, the interim president of the DLCC said.
With the House and Senate blue, Governor Youngkin said it will take bipartisan efforts to find a reasonable limit for an abortion in Virginia.
“There is a place to come together around a reasonable limit, I think Virginians can come there, and it is something I am committed to work on with our legislature,” Youngkin said.