When Gov. Glenn Youngkin won a narrow victory in 2021 against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, he promised to transform the Commonwealth after over a decade of Democratic leadership.
“Together we will change the trajectory of this Commonwealth,” Youngkin said in his 2021 victory speech. “We are going to start that transformation on day one.”
Yet with a divided government during his entire four years, disagreements with Democrats in the General Assembly stopped him short of a major overhaul. Youngkin also was not able to run for re-election because Virginia law prohibits governors from running for consecutive terms.
Youngkin took office with Republican control of the House of Delegates, following a strong year for Republicans in 2021. But because the Senate and the governor are never up for election at the same time, Youngkin had a Democratic-controlled Senate for the first half of his term. And when he had a chance to get a trifecta in 2023, Democrats retained control of the Senate and took control of the House, solidifying divided government for the rest of his term. This dynamic created stalemates on key priorities for both parties.
When Youngkin was elected, he leaned into changing what was taught in Virginia’s schools and making it an attractive state for business. His impact on higher education at Virginia’s public universities will have lasting implications, but other attempted policy changes stalled in the legislative process. His strong record on jobs and the economy also threatens to be stopped in its tracks by cuts from the Trump administration.
Still, Youngkin was able to compromise on some issues and take executive action to bring some of the changes he promised. After nearly four years in office, here is an overview of how Youngkin changed Virginia.
Higher education
Education was a key part of Youngkin’s 2021 campaign, and many of the significant changes during his term being on the topic show an attempt to keep his promise.
Working around the divided government at times, Youngkin found success in the arena of higher education, a space where he was able to execute executive action. During his term, Youngkin appointed 17 new members to the University’s Board of Visitors, giving the previously Democratic-appointed Board a new conservative lean.
The Cavalier Daily reported in July that the Youngkin-appointed Board, minus the most recent appointees, had donated a total of around $4.8 million to Republican campaigns and just around $10,000 to Democratic ones.
Some of the biggest policy changes of the Board were not decisions made by the members themselves, rather compliance with outside orders. They followed orders from the Trump administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in March. Additionally, the Board was accused of not adequately fighting federal pressures when the Justice Department pressured former University President Jim Ryan to resign, according to some faculty and students. Both the Faculty Senate and Student Council passed no-confidence resolutions in the Board during this time.
But after rubber-stamping Youngkin’s Board nominees throughout most of his term, Senate Democrats have blocked a total of 22 governing board appointees at three schools — including the University — all since June. So while these boards are stacked with Youngkin appointees, Democrats’ decision to fight back slowed any further progress.
When Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger takes office in January, she could fill the five vacancies on the University’s Board. But unless she chooses to fire individual members, Youngkin nominees will hold the majority on the Board for the beginning of her term. Until her appointees take a majority on these boards, Youngkin’s influence will remain.
Youngkin and the General Assembly did find agreement on ending legacy admissions for Virginia’s universities, with the General Assembly voting overwhelmingly to do so.
K-12 education
K-12 education was also a focal point of Youngkin’s 2021 campaign, in which he criticized COVID-19 lockdowns and how narratives about race and sexuality were addressed in the classroom setting. The first executive order of his term was one to end “inherently divisive concepts” in public schools, which included “critical race theory.” But PolitiFact found that critical race theory was not previously part of Virginia’s K-12 education curriculum. Youngkin also set up a tip line for parents to report if “inherently divisive concepts” were being taught in public schools.
One of Youngkin’s signature accomplishments on education was convincing the General Assembly under split-party control to approve over $100 million to fund lab schools, or specialized public schools created in partnership with colleges and universities. The schools allow students from any district to attend — via a lottery system, and given that space is available — instead of their local public school.
One such lab school, Old Dominion University - Chesapeake’s Computer Science Lab School promotes Computer Science education to underrepresented middle school students. With a focus on supporting lab schools, Youngkin emphasized an element of school choice in Virginia.
Economy, jobs and regulation
Taking over as governor on the heels of the pandemic and recession, Youngkin’s administration saw the creation of 277,000 jobs in the Commonwealth, according to a Youngkin spokesperson. But as President Donald Trump made significant cuts to the federal workforce in 2025, Virginia is projected to lose jobs this year and have almost no job growth in 2026. These cuts are not the result of the Youngkin policies, but will end his administration’s streak of job growth.
Youngkin also delivered more than $9 billion in tax relief, according to the spokesperson. A key part of that tax relief was eliminating the state’s portion of the grocery tax — reducing the overall rate from 2.5 percent to 1 percent — as the remaining 1 percent only goes to localities, not the state.
An attempt to pause the state’s gas tax for a brief period failed in the Senate, and more substantial tax cuts Youngkin attempted — including a corporate tax cut and eliminating the remainder of the grocery tax — failed. A bipartisan compromise in Youngkin’s 2023 budget delivered a one-time tax credit and a raise in the standard tax deduction.
While Youngkin was not able to successfully eliminate the car tax or pause the gas tax, he was able to successfully challenge other environmental regulations which had been previously implemented, including mostly eliminating Virginia’s adherence to the California electric vehicle mandate. The General Assembly passed a law in 2021 to match California’s plan for all-electric vehicles in the state by 2035. But that law only opted Virginia into the first phase of the plan, allowing Youngkin to decide not to match the second phase of the plan without legislative action.
Youngkin’s attempt to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative — a program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions — failed after a judge ruled Youngkin could not unilaterally withdraw from the RGGI in 2024.
Vetoes and General Assembly standoffs
Overall, many bills by the General Assembly failed during Youngkin’s term. As of the end of the 2025 session, Youngkin had vetoed over 400 bills as governor — the most in Virginia history.
Among the stalled legislation which resulted from divided government included legislation to set up a commercial marijuana market in Virginia. The General Assembly legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2021, but waited to set up a retail market until the beginning of 2024. By then, Youngkin was governor, and vetoed two attempts by the General Assembly to set up a retail market.
Other Democratic priorities were stopped by Youngkin as well. Youngkin vetoed two attempts by the General Assembly to raise the minimum wage to $13.50 an hour by 2026, and $15 by 2027, and he vetoed over 30 bills related to gun access or reform in 2024.
One unexpected agreement came in 2024 when Youngkin signed a bill protecting same-sex marriage in Virginia after it had mostly received only-Democratic support in the General Assembly.
When he first took over as majority leader before the 2024 session, Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, told The Cavalier Daily he was optimistic about working with Youngkin, saying the governor had shown willingness to work together.
But by the end of the 2025 session, Surovell had changed his attitude, telling The Cavalier Daily that Youngkin was not “particularly collaborative.”
“We don't find out the governor has a problem with a bill until we receive a veto statement, and it’s just kind of disappointing,” Surovell said. “It's not the way it has operated the last 14 years I served before he was elected.”
Democrats’ priorities were not the only ones which stalled. Youngkin and Republicans campaigned on passing a 15-week abortion ban during the 2023 elections as a way to encourage voters to give the party a majority in both chambers. But as the last state in the South without an abortion ban, Virginia voters rejected Republicans and kept abortion unrestricted in the Commonwealth.
In the end, Youngkin vetoed far more bills than when U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine was a governor with divided government and vetoed just 40 bills. But when Youngkin could not use the General Assembly to achieve his priorities, he used executive action to make a lasting change in Virginia.
Looking forward
As Spanberger prepares to take office, she will do so with a significantly expanded majority in the House and a continued majority in the Senate.
Tuesday night, Spanberger shared a message to her supporters, emphasizing the power of the people in bringing political change to Virginia.
“Our founders … didn't choose to call Virginia a Commonwealth by accident,” Spanberger said. “They chose it to signify that our government would be based on the power of the people, united for a common good. Not for a political party, not for a president, not for a monarch, but for a common good together, and tonight, Virginia proved that that tradition is alive and well.”
With a trifecta in Richmond for the first time in years and a promise to reform education once again, voters can expect more legislative productivity to come.
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