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All 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates[a] 51 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 39%  15.9[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results: Democratic hold Democratic gain Republican hold Republican gain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Virginia |
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The 2023 Virginia House of Delegates election took place on November 7, 2023, concurrently with elections for the Virginia Senate, to elect members of the 163rd Virginia General Assembly. All 100 delegates were elected to two-year terms from single-member districts. Nomination primaries held through the Department of Elections were held June 20, 2023.[3] Democrats gained 3 seats, winning back control with a 51–49 majority after having previously lost it in 2021.[4]
Governor Glenn Youngkin sought a Republican trifecta, already having control of the House of Delegates after the 2021 election, he sought to hold the House and flip Virginia's Senate to enact his conservative agenda over Democratic objections. However, this is the first election held following the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision the following year, which ruled that abortion is not a constitutional right in the United States, this cost the GOP the red wave in the 2022 midterms last year, forcing the party to accept a smaller-than-expected majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and face continued Democratic rule of the U.S. Senate during the 118th United States Congress. Youngkin attempted to change Republican messaging on abortion by proposing a 15-week abortion "limit" instead of using the word "ban", hoping his abortion plan would come across as sensible to Virginia voters, but it backfired, most Americans even Virginians do not trust the Republican Party on the issue of abortion, and the Virginia electorate's reaction to Youngkin's abortion proposal was no exception to this reality. Democrats recaptured control of the House of Delegates, flipping three seats. Democrats also maintained their majority in the Senate, re-establishing unified Democratic rule of the Virginia legislature.[5]
After the election, Glenn Youngkin said he will not be a candidate for President of the United States in the presidential election.[6] Youngkin was forced to abandon his 15-week abortion limit plan and other conservative legislative priorities and spent the rest of his only term fighting with a Democratic legislature. Democratic leader Don Scott became the first African American to become Speaker.
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- ^ "General Assembly Turnout - Nov 2023".
- ^ State Election Results
- ^ "§ 24.2-515. Presidential election year primaries". lis.virginia.gov.
- ^ Kronzer, Jessica (November 7, 2023). "Democrats sweep Virginia elections to take control of General Assembly". WTOP-FM. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ Oliver, Ned (November 8, 2023). "Virginia Democrats seize statehouse, dashing Youngkin's hopes of a Gop takeover". Axios. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- ^ Rinaldi, Olivia (May 1, 2023). "Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says no to 2024 presidential bid". CBS News. Retrieved June 23, 2024.