Va. Speaker Don Scott Says New Democrat-Controlled House Plans To Listen To Voters

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Now that the Virginia House of Delegates has a majority of at least 64 Democrat delegates, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott said the Democrat-controlled House plans to listen to voters.

After Election Day, the number of Democrats holding House of Delegates seats increased from 51 to at least 64, according to unofficial results. Four of those flips occurred in Hampton Roads districts including Hampton, where a state delegate seat held by a Republican went to a Democrat. Del. AC Cordoza lost to Democrat Virgil Thornton.

Democratic candidates ran in all 100 House districts and picked up five districts that were won by President Donald Trump in 2024. Exit polls showed voters said they are interested in kitchen-table issues and protecting democracy.

“This is what a mandate looks like,” Scott said in a recent interview with Cardinal News. “We’re going to keep focused and we’re going to remain disciplined. The word of the day now is ‘restraint.’ We can’t overreach. We have to be restrained, we have to be wise with the gift that the voters have given us, to govern.”

“We’re going to listen to the voters – they already told us what our priorities should be,” Scott said.

The priorities include lowering the cost of housing, health care, making schools safe and protecting public safety, among others, Scott said.

Describing the new House members who will be sworn into office in January, Scott told Blue Mercury in a Nov. 5 interview, “We recruited diverse candidates who are deeply rooted in their communities – teachers, veterans, caregivers, small business owners, accountants, doctors, social workers, people from the community. We rejected the outdated assumptions about who can win a front line battleground district and shattered old, outdated stereotypes. And we ran minorities and women in a majority of our frontline battleground districts.”

Scott added, “But we didn’t just run against something, we ran for something. We ran to build a winning coalition focused on delivering bold policy for Virginians, strengthening schools, creating jobs, expanding access to health care, lowering costs, and putting money back in people’s pockets. And we made protecting fundamental rights central to our work from reproductive freedom to marriage equality to the right to vote to protecting democracy itself.”

Scott added, “And we did not shy away from telling the truth. Virginia Republicans were too terrified to stand up to Donald Trump. We told that story over and over and over again and voters heard us. Voters saw them running away, cowering in the face of Donald Trump’s destruction of Virginia’s jobs. And because of that, Virginia sent a message to the entire nation, to the entire world. House Democrats and Abigail Spanberger have shown the country a roadmap to victory. I’m so proud of this work.”

Advertisement

Scott said, “We’re gonna listen to the voters. They already told us what the priorities should be.”