David Yancey won the suspenseful drawing [1] to become the 94th District delegate in the next General Assembly session, but the real winner was someone much higher in Virginia’s political pecking order.
No, it wasn’t soon-to-be Speaker Kirk Cox. Nor was it Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment. Rather, it was the other big player in Capitol Square: Gov.-elect Ralph Northam.
With Republicans narrowly in charge of the General Assembly (and, in the Senate, sometimes only nominally), the worst and most destructive impulses of his own Democratic party should (mostly) be held in check.
Republicans will feel the pinch of a smaller House caucus. While they get to set the rules and control the committees, voters have made it clear none is safe come Election Day.
For Northam, this is almost the best of all possible worlds.
Yes, he will still feel pressure from restive progressives to push for sweeping changes, be it through campaign-finance reform, Medicaid expansion, the environment or a host of other issues. But without legislative majorities, or even parity in the House, the progressive wish list remains exactly that.
Northam can prod and cajole chastened Republicans on certain issues, such as Medicaid expansion. He could even use his veto power to get what he wants, knowing the votes to override just aren’t there.
He could also follow outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s lead, using executive orders to shape policy. But that doesn’t seem to be Northam’s way.
Read more here [2].