2026 Virginia legislative session

← 2025 2027 →
2026 Virginia legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 14, 2026 Scheduled session end:    March 14, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Ghazala Hashmi (D) House Speaker Don Scott (D) Majority Leader Senate: Scott Surovell (D) House: Charniele Herring (D) Minority Leader Senate: Ryan McDougle (R) House: Terry Kilgore (R)
Elections
Next Election:    November 2, 2027 Last Election:    November 4, 2025
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

In 2026, the Virginia State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 14, 2026, and adjourn on March 14, 2026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2023 and 2025 elections. Democrats won a 21-19 majority in the Senate in 2023 and a 64-36 majority in the House in 2025. The Democratic Party controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2026 session, Virginia was one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Democrats held a majority in the Virginia state House and state Senate.

Virginia was one of 16 Democratic state government trifectas.

Virginia's governor was Democrat Abigail Spanberger.

Leadership in 2026

See also: Leadership positions in state legislatures

Virginia State Senate

• Senate president: Ghazala Hashmi (D)
• Majority leader: Scott Surovell (D)
• Minority leader: Ryan McDougle (R)

Virginia House of Delegates

• Speaker of the House: Don Scott (D)
• Majority leader: Charniele Herring (D)
• Minority leader: Terry Kilgore (R)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

Virginia was one of 16 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2026 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

Virginia was also one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Virginia State Legislature in the 2026 legislative session.

Virginia State Senate

Partisan composition, Virginia State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	21
Republican	19
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	40

Virginia House of Delegates

Partisan composition, Virginia House of Delegates

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	64
Republican	36
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	100

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation has met these criteria yet in 2026. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Virginia state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, there were 28 standing committees in Virginia's state government, including 13 state Senate committees and 15 state House committees.

Senate committees

• Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee
• Commerce and Labor Committee
• Education and Health Committee
• Finance and Appropriations Committee
• General Laws and Technology Committee
• Judiciary Committee
• Local Government Committee
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee
• Senate Courts of Justice Committee
• Senate Finance Committee
• Senate Privileges and Elections Committee
• Senate Rules Committee
• Senate Transportation Committee

House committees

• Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee
• Appropriations Committee
• Communications, Technology and Innovation Committee
• Counties, Cities and Towns Committee
• Education Committee
• General Laws Committee
• Health and Human Services Committee
• House Courts of Justice Committee
• House Finance Committee
• House Privileges and Elections Committee
• House Rules Committee
• House Transportation Committee
• Labor and Commerce Committee
• Public Safety Committee
• Science and Technology Committee

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Virginia Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XII of the Virginia Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Virginia

The Virginia Constitution can be amended through two different paths—a legislative process, and a constitutional convention. Virginia does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Virginia General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Virginia House of Delegates and 21 votes in the Virginia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

Amendments to or revisions of the state's constitution can be proposed by a constitutional convention as established in Section 2 of Article XII. A convention can happen if the state's legislature "by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house" calls a convention.

Historical partisan control

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Virginia.

Virginia Party Control: 1992-2026
Five years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Governor	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D
Senate	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	D	D

Historical Senate control

Democrats won a 21-19 majority in the Virginia State Senate in 2019, gaining control of the chamber for the first time since 2007.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Virginia State Senate election results: 1991-2023

Party	91	95	99	03	07	11	15	19	23
Democrats	22	20	19	16	21	20	19	21	21
Republicans	18	20	21	24	19	20	21	19	19

Historical House control

Democrats won a 51-49 majority in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2023, making it the third time in three election cycles that the chamber majority changed hands. In 2025, Democrats won a 64-36 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia House following every general election from 1991 to 2025. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Virginia House of Delegates election results: 1991-2025

Year	'91	'93	'95	'97	'99	'01	'03	'05	'07	'09	'11	'13	'15	'17	'19	'21	'23	'25
Democrats	58	52	52	50	47	31	37	39	44	39	32	33	34	49	55	48	51	64
Republicans	41	47	47	49	52	67	61	58	54	59	67	67	66	51	45	52	49	36
Other	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2011-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - Virginia

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	Virginia State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Virginia State Senate elections, 2027 Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2027	Virginia State Legislature Virginia House of Delegates Virginia State Senate Governor of Virginia Virginia Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Virginia General Assembly homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)

2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams, Managing Editor of Events • Joseph Greaney, Managing Editor of Policy • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Victoria Edwards • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox