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Why you should care about state legislative elections
by Mallory Roman
State legislative races are often won by small margins, command way less money, attention, and support than federal races, and have the power to impact people who live there just as much as, if not more than, federal policies. In fact, living in a state with more left-wing policies is associated with a longer life expectancy1. One only needs to look to Virginia to see how electing a state government that enacts worker- and people-friendly policies can help to move the needle for real people on health, wealth, and quality of life.
Let’s take it back to 2019, when Democrats had the first Democratic trifecta (i.e., they controlled the governorship, the state senate, and the state house of delegates) in Virginia since 19932. This comprehensive reporting from the Virginia Mercury3 in 2021 outlines Virginia Democrats’ accomplishments in that first two-year period, including advances on voter access, climate change, higher education costs, healthcare access, minimum wage, gun safety, legalizing marijuana, abolishing the death penalty, and more. In just two years, Democrats were able to pass laws and reforms that had a meaningful impact on Virginians’ quality of life, safety, and access to the polls. States can be incubators for powerful change when parties have enough control to pass legislation that is aimed at helping everyday people.
But, despite widespread Democratic accomplishments between 2019 and 2021, the house of delegates swung back to a Republican majority4 in the 2021 election, and Glenn Youngkin was also elected Governor5 against former governor and long-time politician Terry McAuliffe, leaving Democrats only controlling the state senate. The reason why is up for debate. But elections tend to go in a pattern of what is called surge and decline6, where support for the controlling party tends to be high when it’s elected in, but tends to wane by the midterm election enough for the opposition party to seize control of at least part of the legislative branch. So it could have been that. It could have been a canary in the coal mine for returning support for Trump and his policies. It could have been the establishment Democrat connection that Terry McAuliffe had with his Clinton-backed campaign7 as a political elite himself.
Regardless of reason, Democrats lost control and we saw Republicans try to roll back climate protections8, veto voting access and voting rights measures9, and impede cannabis reform measures10, among other things. But then, along the lines of the surge and decline phenomena, Democrats won back control of the house in 202311, and regained their trifecta with the election of Democrat Abigail Spanberger as governor in 202512. The Democratic win in 2023 helped to stop various Republican roll-backs and laws from advancing, and the Democratic win in 2025 ensures the ability of Democrats to pass Spanberger’s people-first agenda. Spanberger is already making moves to reduce the cost of living for Virginians 13 and to stop local police from acting on behalf of ICE14.
There are so many reasons to care about state legislative elections, but one of the main ones is that we often have an easier path to change. While federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 200915, Virginia Democrats were able to raise minimum wage shortly after gaining a trifecta in 202116. Republican governor Glenn Youngkin then vetoed the Democratic-backed push to raise the minimum wage above $12.41 twice17 after Democrats regained control of the legislature in 2023. Finally, Democrats were able to raise the minimum wage to $15 in early 202518 after regaining their trifecta, delivering on their 2019 promise. Because of an election, Virginians who work minimum wage jobs are now earning more than twice the minimum wage workers are earning in 20 other states19.
That is a meaningful win for the everyday worker, and puts more money into the pockets of people with the lowest-paying jobs, helping them to live better lives and better support themselves and their families. It’s worker first policy that translates to real dollars in real bank accounts that Republicans have traditionally blocked20. This just shows the power of state elections in helping to pass reforms that help people right now. We don’t need to wait for a federal government that seems to be constantly gridlocked and out of touch with the needs of everyday Americans. We can focus on making change closer to home, and lifting up our neighbors and fellow workers with policies that make a difference on the issues that keep Americans up at night.
References
1. Montez, J. K., Beckfield, J., Cooney, J. K., Grumbach, J. M., Hayward, M. D., Koytak, H. Z., … & Zajacova, A. (2020). US state policies, politics, and life expectancy. The Milbank Quarterly, 98(3), 668-699.
2. https://ballotpedia.org/Party_control_of_Virginia_state_government
4. https://www.vpap.org/electionresults/20211102/house/
5. https://www.vpap.org/electionresults/20211102/statewide/
6. Campbell, J. E. (1987). The revised theory of surge and decline. American Journal of Political Science, 965-979.
9. https://virginiamercury.com/2024/04/11/youngkin-blocks-democratic-bills-dealing-with-elections/
12. https://www.thecollegianur.com/article/democrats-hold-house-of-delegates-claim-trifecta-20251105
13. https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-01-17/governor-abigail-davis-spanberger-eos-trump-hr1-dei-287g-ice
15. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/history
19. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages
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