The 160th Virginia General Assembly, consisting of members who were elected in both the 2017 House election and 2015 Senate election, convened on January 9, 2018. Republicans held one-seat majorities in both chambers, losing 17 seats in the House.

Membership

In the 2017 election, 25 women were elected to the House of Delegates, breaking the previous record of 19 that was set in 2013. On January 1, 2019,

Eileen Filler-Corn Eileen Robin Filler-Corn (born June 5, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Minority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates from January to April 2022, a position she previously held from 2019 to 2020. She previously s ...

became Leader of the House Democratic Caucus, succeeding

David Toscano David Joseph Toscano (born June 28, 1950) is an American politician and lawyer. Career A Democrat, he served on the Charlottesville, Virginia city council from 1990 to 2002 and was mayor from 1994 to 1996. In November 2005 he was elected to t ...

. She is the first woman to lead a caucus in the 400-year history of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

. In addition, in the 13th district, Democratic candidate

Danica Roem Danica Anthony Roem ( ; born September 30, 1984) is an American journalist and politician who has served in the Virginia Senate since 2024. A Democrat, she represents the 30th district covering part of Prince William County including the cities ...

became the first openly transgender candidate to be elected and serve in a state legislative body in the United States. In the 21st and 42nd districts, respectively, Democratic candidates Kelly Fowler and

Kathy Tran Kathy Tran (born 1978) is an American politician who currently serves in the Virginia House of Delegates. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, she represents the Virginia's 18th House of Delegates district, 18th House of Delegates distr ...

became the first Asian American women elected to the House of Delegates. Democratic candidates

Elizabeth Guzmán Elizabeth Rosalina Guzmán is an American politician and social worker who served as a member of the Virginia's House of Delegates for the 31st district from 2018 to 2024. She was first elected in 2017 after defeating incumbent Republican Sc ...

and

Hala Ayala Hala Sophia Ayala (born April 23, 1973) is an American politician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 51st district from 2018 to 2022. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2021 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial ...

were elected to 31st and 51st districts, respectively, to also become the first two Hispanic women elected to the House of Delegates. In the 68th district, Democratic candidate

Dawn M. Adams Dawn Marie Adams (born November 6, 1964) is an American politician who served as the Delegate from the 68th District of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2024. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Adams is a nurse practitioner ...

became the first openly lesbian candidate to be elected to the House of Delegates.

Legislation

In the aftermath of the 2019 Virginia Beach shooting, Governor

Ralph Northam Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...

called for a special session of the Virginia Legislature in order for it to consider different gun-control bills. The House of Delegates reconvened on July 9, 2019 only for it to adjourn again after 90 minutes of session. This decision was made on a party-line vote. Northam expressed his disappointment that no gun-control measures were considered. Speaker of the House of

Kirk Cox Marvin Kirkland Cox (born August 17, 1957) is an American retired politician and educator. A Republican and a former high school teacher, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1990 to 2022, representing the 66th District. From 2018 ...

called the special session "just an election year stunt". He criticized the Democrats' focus on gun-control bills without considering mental health and penalization of crimes.

References

{{Virginia General Assemblies Virginia legislative sessions 2018 in Virginia

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

2019 in Virginia

Membership

Legislation

See also

References