House Speaker William Howell vowed to continue pushing key Republican objectives during the coming legislative session despite Democratic gains in the Virginia legislature.
The Stafford Republican was not fazed by losing four seats Tuesday night to the Democrats, the party’s largest gain since 1975, or seeing the GOP’s eight-year control of the Senate end. Republicans still outnumber Democrats 54-44 in the House, where there are also two independents.
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“The true test of a strong majority is whether it can weather bad times as well as good,” Howell said late Tuesday night. “Our strong Republican majority in the House of Delegates endured despite a challenging political environment.”
Howell said he believes he has a mandate from voters to continue the House Republicans’ conservative agenda, while Democrats contend the state’s citizens demanded a change from the House Republicans’ rigid conservative ideology.
“I would hope the lesson learned [Tuesday] would be that Virginians expect their government to govern from the center,” said Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “I expect the House Republican leadership to cooperate and work with us in a more bipartisan fashion as a result of these elections.”
The philosophical divergence foreshadows a contentious session when the new legislature convenes in January. Closing an estimated $600 million shortfall in the current budget and coming up with a new two-year spending plan will be the biggest tests for the parties.
In his post-election comments, Howell emphasized his Republican colleagues remain opposed to Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine’s plans to use the state’s reserve account to close the budget gap. The parties’ divergent views on fiscal policy will cause bitter legislative battles, analysts predict.
“The majority of the Republican caucus in the House has consistently said no to tax increases,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. “The Democrats, by and large, are opposed to service cuts. It’s very hard to compromise when the two parties stake out firm and opposed positions.”
