Democrats retook full control in Richmond and are already advancing right-to-work repeal, testing whether incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger will stand by her campaign promise.
Given its proximity to Washington, D.C., Virginia has long had a reputation for its off-year elections swinging to whatever political party does not control the White House. After four years of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin—whose victory came on the back of Joe Biden's first year as president—the commonwealth went strongly Democratic this year, electing incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger amid President Donald Trump's second term.
Virginia Democrats now have a trifecta in Richmond, and political winds suggest that this could finally spell the end of right-to-work in the state, after nearly 80 years of the law being on the books.
Spanberger's term doesn't start until January, but state Democratic lawmakers have already introduced right-to-work repeal legislation that they hope to send to her desk. So far, Spanberger claims to oppose right-to-work's repeal, but the coming weeks will show if she reverts to her career-long pro-union track record.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Reason
______________________
C. Jarrett Dieterle is a legal policy fellow for the Manhattan Institute.
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images