Despite Major Investments, Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Republicans Lose the House of Delegates and Fail to Take Control of State Senate
WASHINGTON — In a significant victory for gun safety and major defeat for the extremist and deadly agenda of MAGA Governor Glenn Youngkin, Virginia Democrats flipped the House of Delegates, establishing gun sense majorities in both chambers in Richmond. In response, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and its grassroots networks Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, and Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, released the following statements.
“Tonight, Virginia voters made it clear they want leaders who will prioritize keeping communities safe from gun violence,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “This marks a major defeat for MAGA Republican Governor Youngkin and his allies, and is further proof heading into the 2024 elections that the political calculus on guns has changed and the gun safety movement’s electoral playbook is working. We look forward to working with Virginia’s gun sense majority to protect — and build on — the state’s gun safety laws.”
“Virginia has always been a bellwether for the rest of America, and this victory is further evidence that our communities refuse to live in a country surrounded by senseless acts of gun violence,” said Angela Ferrell Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “Virginia voters don’t want Glenn Youngkin’s ‘guns everywhere’ agenda – they want leaders, like Virginia’s Gun Sense Candidates and our Moms Demand Action volunteers, who actually care about making sure our kids and families make it home safe every day. This marks a new opportunity for Virginia lawmakers to act with courage and pass the common-sense gun safety laws that their constituents deserve.”
Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund invested over $1.5 million in the 2023 Virginia elections, launching a paid media campaign highlighting Virginia MAGA Republicans’ opposition to common-sense gun safety laws and showcasing Moms Demand Action volunteers running for office. Everytown’s ads focused on the role of guns in Virginia’s rising rate of violent crime, the importance of keeping schools safe from gun violence, and linking gun violence prevention and abortion rights under a frame of MAGA candidates who are putting the health and safety of Virginians at risk. Everytown also mobilized its grassroots army of hundreds of thousands of Virginia Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action supporters to communicate directly with voters about the stakes on gun safety in this election.
In recent years, Everytown has invested millions in Virginia elections — outspending the NRA by 4:1 in 2019, when the House of Delegates and state Senate both flipped to gun sense majorities for the first time in nearly 25 years. The General Assembly then passed a suite of gun safety reforms, including legislation to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and landmark legislation expanding background checks.
