Win in Virginia in 2023
This fall, every single seat in the Virginia General Assembly will be up for election. Despite an incredible volunteer effort in 2021, Republicans flipped the House of Delegates and elected GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin, leaving only the Virginia State Senate in Democratic hands. Virginians have the opportunity to hold the State Senate and flip the House of Delegates this year, allowing the General Assembly to continue serving as a critical check against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s extremist agenda.
We're connecting with voters ahead of the Nov 7 election to encourage them to make their voices heard.
Vote Forward
Write letters to voters in Virginia
We're writing letters with Vote Forward through October. Help increase turnout with this effective tactic.
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Canvass in Virginia
Knock on doors in Virginia
Have one-on-one conversations, share election info, and encourage folks to make a voting plan.
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Donate to Virginia candidates
Donate to help our target candidates staff their campaigns and get their messages out to more voters.
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Connect with voters in Virginia
Call voters to let them know about the Nov 7 election and help them make a plan to vote.
Join a phone bank
New to volunteering? Join a volunteer orientation to learn more about this effort and how to get involved.
What's at stake
In 2019, with the help of Swing Left volunteers, Virginia voters elected Democratic majorities in the VA House of Delegates and State Senate for the first time since 1994, securing a Democratic trifecta. That trifecta made Virginia the first southern state to abolish the death penalty, expanded voting access, passed meaningful legislation to reduce gun violence in the commonwealth, protected the LGBTQ+ community through measures like banning conversion therapy, safeguarded abortion access, and more.
Now, Virginia GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin wants to make Virginia the next Florida. VA GOP extremism is a threat to abortion access, gun violence prevention, public education, and voting rights. We can stop the MAGA extremists trying to model Virginia after DeSantis's Florida by preventing a GOP trifecta.
Together, we can hold the State Senate and flip the House of Delegates. Democrats have momentum from crucial state-level wins in 2022 and 2023, and we need to keep that up as we head into 2024. Every voter you connect with—on a call, at a door, or in a letter—could make the difference in these competitive state-level races.
Target races
In 2021, Democrats lost the House of Delegates by just 733 votes across three districts. Flipping the House of Delegates and holding the State Senate are well within reach this year, if we encourage Virginians to vote for Democrats in these competitive districts.
Note: The "2021 McAuliffe vote" is the vote share the 2021 Democratic nominee for VA governor would've received in these newly drawn districts.
2021 McAuliffe vote: 54.02%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 50.04%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 48.07%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 51.76%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 50.66%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 47.10%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 47.88%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 51.41%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 48.60%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 48.60%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 50.65%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 52.84%
2021 McAuliffe vote: 49.03%
How we chose these races
The Virginia General Assembly elections in 2023 are using new maps. As a result, the value of “incumbency” is somewhat diminished and there will be races where sitting members face off against one another in the general election.
Both the governor's seat & the VA House of Delegates (48 Dem / 52 GOP) are GOP controlled. Democrats hold a slim majority in the VA State Senate (21 Dem / 18 GOP / 1 Vacant). Both the State Senate and House of Delegates are flippable in 2023. As a result, we're working to protect the State Senate, and charting a path to flip the House of Delegates.
In an effort to identify districts that are most flippable/vulnerable, we narrowed the list of potential targets in the VA State Senate to:
- Districts that Biden won with 50%+ of the vote in 2020
- Districts where Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2021, received between 45% and 55% of the vote in the 2021 gubernatorial elections
- Districts that aligned with in-state partner and ally prioritization
We will continue to evaluate the field throughout the cycle to potentially add more targets as more information becomes available.
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I'm volunteering with @swingleft to help Democrats win in Virginia! Are you with me? Visit swingleft.org/virginia to get involved.
Together, we can win in Virginia in 2023. @swingleft can help you find the highest impact ways to volunteer and donate—check out swingleft.org/virginia to get involved!
I'm volunteering with @swingleft to stop Glenn Youngkin and the extremist VA GOP's assault on abortion access, public education, and voting rights. Check out swingleft.org/virginia to join the effort.
Join Swing Left
We need you on our team to win this year and beyond. Connecting with volunteers and voters in Swing Districts year after year—building and developing organizing muscle—gives our community the power to move the needle in the most competitive races.
