Virginia Democrats won sweeping victories this past November, securing unified control of the state government for just the second time this century. But while they campaigned on “affordability” and addressing kitchen-table concerns, pre-filed bills reveal that Democrats in the Old Dominion are gearing up to ram through a radical left-wing agenda the moment they take power.
Virginia’s new Democrat officeholders, led by Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, won’t take office until next month, and the 2026 legislative session won’t begin until January 14. But the pre-filing window, which allows members of the state Senate and House of Delegates to draft and officially submit bills for the upcoming session, opened on November 17.
The pre-filed Democrat bills read like a wish list of far-left priorities, from job-killing business mandates to forcing schools to put pornographic books in libraries, attacking parental rights, and launching an all-out assault on the Second Amendment. All in all, it’s a platform seemingly designed to appease progressive ideologues in San Francisco, not working families in Virginia.
House Bill 1, the first prefiled bill in both chambers, would require a $15 per hour minimum wage, with annual increases linked to inflation. Incumbent Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has vetoed a similar proposal in the past, saying that it would “implement drastic wage mandates, raise costs on families and small businesses, jeopardize jobs, and fail to recognize regional economic differences across Virginia.” As AMAC Newsline has reported, minimum wage hikes have led to disastrous consequences in other states.
A related Democrat bill would create a new paid sick leave mandate for employers. The legislation specifically requires that businesses provide paid leave for every employee – including part-time and seasonal workers. Combined with the minimum wage hike, this bill would lead directly to increased costs for consumers and likely the closure of many small businesses, thus killing jobs, as attorney and former Republican Delegate Tim Anderson explained on X.
Virginia Democrats’ big government approach does not stop there. House Bill 3, if passed, would establish expensive new requirements for retrofitting houses, supposedly to combat “climate change.” Anyone with a basic understanding of economics understands that these costs would be borne by the property owners and ultimately renters.
As Anderson explained, “when landlords are forced to upgrade insulation, replace systems, meet new energy-performance standards, or comply with state-designed weatherization programs, those costs get passed along in the only place they legally can — the rent.” Such requirements would lead to higher rents “and a shrinking supply of affordable homes.” So much for “affordability” and bringing down the cost of housing, two pillars of Spanberger’s campaign.
Likewise, an “energy transition” proposal that would seek to eliminate gas, oil, and propane-powered homes would make life more unaffordable for many of the state’s poorest residents. “They won’t say it out loud, but the writing is on the wall: this is the first step toward pushing Virginia families away from natural-gas furnaces, natural-gas water heaters and natural-gas stoves,” Anderson warned. “If you like your gas appliances, you better keep your eyes open,” he added.
Virginia Democrats are also going after residents’ constitutional rights, including the right to keep and bear arms. Under the provisions of pre-filed Senate Bill 27, if someone purchases a firearm and then uses it to commit a crime, the gun store that sold that firearm could be sued – even if the sale was completely legal and followed every rule and regulation.
SB 27 is the equivalent of holding a car dealership liable if they sell a car to someone who uses it as a getaway vehicle in a robbery. The entire point is to open gun stores up to so much risk that they either surrender and close shop or are sued into oblivion.
Other egregious proposals would severely restrict the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children. Senate Bill 19, for example, would make it impossible for parents to challenge sexually explicit content in schools. Virginia has notably been ground zero for backlash over the inclusion of age-inappropriate materials in elementary school classrooms and libraries.
Anderson has predicted that other assaults on parental rights and the Constitution could come up again in the legislative session as well. Democrats have floated bills that could result in severe restrictions on homeschooling and eliminating opt-outs for gender ideology curricula.
Another Democrat bill, HB 7, could jeopardize the safety of police and law enforcement in Virginia. That legislation subjects any state or federal officer who wears a face covering in the line of duty to civil penalties – even as assaults and threats against immigration authorities reach an all-time high.
As one Virginia Republican activist put it regarding the bill, “Democrats and the corporate media have been busy radicalizing their supporters against law enforcement officers. They have smeared and defamed these heroes as ‘evil’ and ‘fascist.’ The entire point is to put a target on their backs. Make no mistake – Democrats want radical left-wing lunatics threatening and harming law enforcement and their families.”
Virginia Democrats are also rushing through several constitutional amendments. The most audacious is a measure abolishing the Virginia Redistricting Commission (VRC) and allowing Democrats to draw partisan, gerrymandered maps. Virginia voters just approved the constitutional amendment creating the VRC – which enjoyed robust bipartisan support – by a 65.7 percent to 34.3 percent margin in 2020. Now, Democrats want to tear it down.
Currently, Virginia’s 11 congressional districts are split six Democrat, five Republican, roughly in line with the state’s party split in recent statewide and federal elections. But if the new gerrymandering amendment passes, Democrats could draw a 10-1 map.
Another amendment, billed as creating a constitutional protection for gay marriage, is also a Trojan horse for enshrining radical gender ideology in the state constitution. As Anderson reports, same-sex marriage is already legal in Virginia and nationwide. But the amendment under consideration also makes “gender” a protected class – giving Democrats cover to weaponize the legal system against people of faith and anyone who rejects the lies of left-wing gender ideology.
It’s not just Republicans who are warning about far-left excess from Virginia Democrats. Neutral observers have also stated that the new liberal majority is aiming for far-reaching liberal legislation. “It is important to recognize that this Democratic Caucus in the House is going to be the most liberal Democratic Caucus in the House in Virginia history,” University of Mary Washington scholar Stephen Farnsworth said during a post-election panel.
The economic plans in particular will be costly, according to Republican House leader Terry Kilgore. “For a group that ran on lowering costs, this sure looks like it’s going to make things more expensive,” he warned.
While Americans who don’t live in Virginia may feel no cause for immediate concern about Democrats’ astonishing leftward lurch there, the situation unfolding in the Old Dominion should be a warning for voters everywhere.
Democrats are talking about affordability, but Virginia shows that when they get power, they aren’t concerned about that at all. The measures they do advance, like minimum wage hikes and “efficiency” mandates for homes, will only drive the cost of living higher.
If Democrats capture more statehouses, governorships, and Congress in 2026, expect the same radical anti-affordability agenda to go national.
Matt Lamb is an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.
