Commentary: Another bad day for the GOP
Former two-term LG Bill Bolling provides commentary on his party's losses
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Former two-term Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling provides commentary after Republicans lost the majority in the House of Delegates and failed to gain control of the state Senate.
ELECTION DAY 2023: ANOTHER BAD DAY FOR THE GOP
by Bill Bolling
Election Day 2023 has passed, and it was not a good day for Virginia Republicans. Not only did the GOP fail to "flip the Senate", they also failed to "hold the House."
This is a huge defeat for Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who invested much of himself in a number of targeted campaigns across the state.
In the Senate, Republicans may actually end up losing ground with the defeat of Senator Siobhan Dunnavant in the 16th district and the failure to win any of the other targeted seats they needed to win to capture a majority. (The race in the 24th Senate district is still close to call, but if Republicans can hold on and win this seat the Senate will remain in Democratic control by a margin of 21-19)
In the House of Delegates, Republicans actually lost a couple of seats they were marginally favored to win, and it looks like Democrats will regain control of the House with an equally narrow margin of 51-49.
It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to quickly analyze why Republicans did not perform better at the polls on Tuesday. GOP defeats, and Democratic victories, can be attributed to three things: