In 2025, the Republican Party of Virginia was annihilated at the ballot box. Then-Governor Glenn Youngkin had decent job approval numbers, but in recent years, Virginia has taken on a tint that seems more blue than purple. Still, the scale of the destruction was striking. Youngkin’s chosen successor, then-Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earl-Sears, was defeated by over 15 percentage points by now-Governor Abigail Spanberger. Downballot, Democrats carved a bloody swathe through the GOP caucus in the House of Delegates, expanding their 51 to 49-seat majority to a 64 to 36-seat one. Even Jason Miyares, the uncontroversial Republican attorney general who ran a well-funded, competent campaign, was defeated by over 6 percentage points by child murder enthusiast Jay Jones.
The scale of the victory has emboldened Democrats to go on a legislative rampage. While “affordability” was the rallying cry during the campaign, the party has moved aggressively to enact sweeping gun control measures and put forward several potential amendments to the Virginia Constitution.