Turnover in the General Assembly

Primary losses and retirements have led to record high turnover in the Virginia Senate. Two state senators lost in the the November election, five lost in the June primary elections, and ten did not seek re-election this year. Redistricting may have been a factor in many of the decisions. Six of the retirements were legislators drawn into a district with another Senator, and both general election losses were in newly drawn districts that were less favorable for incumbents than their previous districts.

New legislative maps drawn without regard to where current legislators reside have been the primary motivator of an exodus of nearly 1 in 3 members of the Virginia House of Delegates. A total of 30 delegates retired (green) or ran for the Virginia Senate (red).