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Virginia politics The current governor of Virginia is Tim administrator under the council-manager Kaine. The State Capitol building in form of government. There are Richmond was designed by Thomas exceptions, notably Richmond, which has Jefferson, and the cornerstone was laid a popularly-elected mayor who serves as by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. chief executive separate from the city In colonial Virginia, the lower house of council. the legislature was called the House of Virginia is an alcoholic beverage Burgesses. Together with the Governor's control state. Distilled spirits, plus Council, the House of Burgesses made up wine greater than 14% alcohol by volume, the General Assembly. The Governor's are available for off-premises sale Council was composed of 12 men appointed solely in state-owned and -operated by the British Monarch to advise the retail outlets. Governor. The Council also served as the Politics General Court of the colony, a colonial After William Mahone and the Readjuster equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members Party lost control of Virginia politics of the House of Burgesses were chosen by around 1883, the Democratic Party held a all those who could vote in the colony. nearly unchallenged majority position of Each county chose two people or state and most federal offices through burgesses to represent it, while the the middle of the 20th century. The Byrd College of William and Mary and the Organization headed by Harry F. Byrd Sr. cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg, and largely controlled statewide politics. Jamestown each chose one burgess. The In 1970, Republican A. Linwood Holton Burgesses met to make laws for the Jr. became the first Republican governor colony and set the direction for its in the 20th century effectively ending future growth; the Council would then the influence of the Byrd Organization. review the laws and either approve or Holton was succeeded by two other disapprove them. The approval of the Republican governors in the 1970s. Burgesses, the Council, and the governor Virginia has voted for Republicans in was needed to pass a law. The idea of every presidential election since 1952 electing burgesses was important and except for the Democratic landslide in new. It gave Virginians a chance to 1964. Virginia's current streak of control their own government for the voting for Republicans in ten first time. At first, the burgesses were consecutive presidential elections since elected by all free men in the colony. 1968, when Richard Nixon began the Women, indentured servants, and Native Southern Strategy, is the longest among Americans could not vote. Later the the former Confederate States. Virginia rules for voting changed, making it was the only such state to vote for necessary for men to own at least fifty Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter in 1976. acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to Despite Virginia's support of Republican vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia presidential candidates and reputation General Assembly is still in existence as a conservative state, Democrats won as the oldest legislature in the New all three gubernatorial elections in the World. Today, the General Assembly is 1980s and maintained large majorities in made up of the Senate and the House of both houses of the Virginia General Delegates. Assembly, however many Democrats from Like many other states, by the 1850s rural and suburban districts had Virginia featured a state legislature, conservative stances on various issues. several executive officers, and an Virginia experienced a political independent judiciary. By the time of realignment in the 1990s as conservative the Constitution of 1901, which lasted Republicans George Allen and Jim Gilmore longer than any other state held the Governorship from 1994 until constitution, the General Assembly 2002. Republicans captured both houses continued as the legislature, the of the General Assembly and built large Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the majorities. Conservative and moderate judiciary, and the eight elected Democrats from rural and suburban areas executive officers were the Governor, were largely replaced by Republicans. Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Within the Republican party, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, State remnants of the less conservative Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, "mountain-valley" faction of Holton, so Superintendent of Public Instruction and named because many members were from the Commissioner of Agriculture and Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 Virginia, were supplanted by more was amended many times, notably in the conservative office holders. Virginia 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned was considered a red state by political in favor of more modern government, with analysts and most of its residents. fewer elected officials, reformed local Recently, Democrats have been gaining governments and a more streamlined votes in Virginia. The Republican judiciary. majorities in the General Assembly have Virginia currently functions under the narrowed, particularly in the Senate 1971 Constitution of Virginia. It is the where Democrats now occupy 17 out of the Commonwealth's ninth constitution. Under 40 seats. In 2004, John Kerry won 45.48% the Constitution, the government is of the vote in Virginia, the highest composed of three branches: legislative, percentage of any Democrat since Jimmy executive, and judicial. Carter. Kerry won Fairfax County, long a Virginia is one of only five states that Republican stronghold, and fared much elects its state officials in odd better in the rest of Northern Virginia numbered years (The others are Kentucky, than Al Gore did in 2000. Though Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Jersey). Northern Virginia continues to trend Virginia holds elections for these Democratic, most of rural Virginia, once offices every 4 years in the years a Democratic stronghold, has been following Presidential election years. trending Republican, balancing out the Thus, the last year when Virginia state's politics and reflecting the elected a Governor was 2005; the next national urban-rural split. Portions of gubernatorial election will occur in Southwest Virginia influenced by 2009, with future gubernatorial unionized coal mines, the college town elections to take place in 2013, 2017, of Charlottesville, and southeastern 2021, etc. counties in the Black Belt Region have The legislative branch or state remained more likely to vote Democratic. legislature is the Virginia General However, as the population has increased Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 in Northern Virginia, so has the number members make all laws of the of Democratic voters. In 2005 and 2006, Commonwealth. Members of the Virginia Tim Kaine and Jim Webb won nearly all House of Delegates serve two-year terms, jurisdictions within the region, which while members of the Virginia Senate was not accomplished by Alexandria serve four-year terms. The General resident Mark Warner in 2001. Warner Assembly also selects the Commonwealth's performed comparatively strongly in Auditor of Public Accounts. The rural areas, particularly Southwest statutory law enacted by the General Virginia, as his campaign stressed Assembly is codified in the Code of respect for rural cultural values and Virginia. strategies for economic development. The executive branch comprises the Some political analysts have predicted Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant that Virginia could become a more Governor of Virginia, and the Attorney competitive state in future presidential General of Virginia. All three officers elections as the number of Democrats in are separately elected to four-year the north begin to counterbalance the terms in years following Presidential number of Republicans elsewhere. The elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc) and election of Jim Webb as one of take office in January of the following Virginia's two U.S. Senators in the year. Congressional midterm elections of 2006 The governor serves as chief executive reinforced this prediction. In that officer of the Commonwealth and as midterm election, the Virginia Senate commander-in-chief of its militia. race was the last decided and secured Virginia law forbids any governor from the Democratic Party a majority in the serving consecutive terms (although a United States Senate. governor may serve multiple Republican John Warner still holds the non-consecutive terms). The lieutenant other seat in the U.S. Senate. governor, who is not elected on the same Republicans also hold 8 out of 11 seats ticket as the governor, serves as in the U.S. House of Representatives, president of the Senate of Virginia and which some attribute to gerrymandering is first in the line of succession to during redistricting after the 2000 the governor. The attorney general is Census. In Northern Virginia, the most chief legal advisor to the governor and staunchly Democratic areas were placed the General Assembly, chief lawyer of in the 8th Congressional District the Commonwealth and the head of the represented by Jim Moran leaving behind Department of Law. The attorney general traditionally Republican leaning areas is second in the line of succession to in the 11th Congressional District the governor. Whenever there is a represented by Thomas M. Davis and the vacancy in all three executive offices 10th Congressional District represented of governor, lieutenant governor, and by Frank Wolf. The majority African attorney general, then the Speaker of American 3rd Congressional District the House of the Virginia House of represented by Robert C. Scott stretches Delegates becomes governor. from the Richmond metropolitan area to The Office of the Governor's Secretaries Hampton Roads and is surrounded by helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, Republican controlled districts. comprised of the following individuals, Virginia's Lieutenant Governor is a all appointed by the governor Republican. Republican Robert McDonnell The judicial branch consists of the became Attorney General of Virginia by Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia 360 votes following a legally mandated Court of Appeals, the General District recount of ballots for that race in Courts and the Circuit Courts. The 2005. Most elected official in the Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the state's largest city, Virginia Beach, chief justice and six other judges is which has a population in excess of the highest court in the Commonwealth 450,000, are Republicans. Most elected (although, as with all the states, the officials, including a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate county board of supervisors, in the jurisdiction over decisions by the state's most populous locality, Fairfax Virginia Supreme Court involving County, with a population in excess of substantial questions of U.S. one million, are Democrats. Constitution law or constitutional Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run rights). The Chief Justice and the for re-election under the state Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the constitution, and in the November 2005 administrative body for the entire election to succeed Democratic Governor Virginia court system. Mark Warner, Democrat Tim Kaine The 95 counties and the 39 independent (Richmond) beat Republican Attorney cities all have their own governments, General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County) and usually a county board of supervisors or longtime Republican State Senator Russ city council which choose a city manager Potts (Winchester), who ran as an or county administrator to serve as a independent. Kaine was inaugurated as professional, non-political chief governor on January 14, 2006. 1 A B C 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100