The father of a young daughter said the cost of child care is placing a real burden on his family finances. A grandmother lamented that “everything costs too much.” Voter after voter in Virginia worried about how to pay for their prescription drugs.
Economic issues along with abortion rights drove Virginia voters to the polls last week. Voters overwhelmingly rejected extremists who care more about providing tax breaks to billionaires and ending reproductive freedom than about supporting working families.
In a strong rebuke of Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the MAGA agenda he preached on the campaign trail, the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate are now led by Democratic majorities. Canvassers for the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC knocked on more than 53,000 doors in and around Fredericksburg, helping deliver these victories. We heard firsthand that Virginia voters are deeply concerned about Republican inaction in the face of rising prices as families struggle to care for their loved ones and pay the bills. Issues like paid leave, abortion access, gun safety, affordable child care, and prescription drug prices were all top of mind when they cast ballots.
Democratic successes in Virginia aren’t one-offs. They are the consequences of Democratic candidates prioritizing policies that will give families the tools and opportunities they need to build a better life while the Republican Party has proved itself unwilling and incapable of delivering for families. Last month, just across the Potomac River, Republicans left the U.S. House of Representatives speakerless, unable to consider legislation to support America’s families, for a calamitous 21 days. Now, under Speaker Mike Johnson, the House seems intent on causing another unnecessary government shutdown, harming hundreds of thousands of working people and their loved ones.
Earlier, Republican lawmakers quietly let us tumble head-first off the child-care cliff, allowing essential federal funding for child care to expire. In Virginia, researchers project that 1,383 child-care programs could close, with 88,265 kids losing care in the state. Nationwide, more than 3 million kids could lose care, forcing many parents, especially mothers, to leave the workforce, causing ripple effects on the economy.
Still, Republicans in Congress seemed more concerned about petty party infighting than they did about the consequences the child-care cliff would have on families — unless you count presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott’s debate suggestion that lowering taxes will magically solve the problem. Meantime, President Biden has put affordable child care at the top of his domestic agenda, with a $16 billion emergency funding request to Congress.
A Republican trifecta would have been a nightmare for working families in Virginia. Youngkin and his allies, including business executives, attorneys, and corporate interests, raised more than $18 million this cycle to continue electing MAGA extremists in the state who are opposed to policies that help hardworking Americans make ends meet.
But Virginia voters remained crystal-clear about the fact that MAGA extremists are focused on taking away their rights and freedoms instead of helping working families. From Roanoke to Richmond, they cast their ballots in favor of preserving their abortion and voting rights and addressing the kitchen-table issues that affect Virginians.
As a bellwether and a swing state, Virginia’s results are often considered telling for next year’s election cycle. Voters in the commonwealth have made it known that they don’t want to elect politicians who ignore the plight of working families in Richmond, and they definitely don’t want them in Washington.
As we look forward to key 2024 races, we are going to work to elect candidates across the country who support commonsense policies that keep families healthy, safe and financially secure.