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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Feb. 21, 2025:
General Assembly reaches FY26 budget tentative compromise
Reported by VPM News’ Jahd Khalil
Virginia’s state budget negotiators are proposing to give state employees a bonus, keep skill games illegal, and use an optional local tax to fund school construction, alongside the tax rebates both chambers had previously proposed.
“We sought to address the needs of folks in the commonwealth, whether it be education, whether it be health care, preparing for job creation,” Del. Luke Torian (D–Prince William), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said Thursday. “[We’re] making sure that we're continuing to move the Virginia economy along and take care of the folks that matter most.”
After Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed a rebate to offset Virginia’s car tax and eliminating taxes on tips in December, both the House of Delegates and state Senate opted to reject that and propose a broader tax rebate instead. But they differed on approaches to gambling legalization, school construction and education, and funding for Richmond’s 150-year-old stormwater system.
The proposal, on which legislators can vote Saturday, contrasts with what Youngkin put forward on taxes, immigration policy, and education. It also comes as uncertainty around federal funding, jobs, contracts and grants could pose serious budget challenges.
Who’s running for Virginia governor in 2025?
Reported by VPM News’ Jahd Khalil and Sean McGoey
Conventional wisdom says the nominee of the sitting president’s party faces an uphill battle in Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial election. Since Republican Mills Godwin was elected in 1973, the party out of the White House has had its candidate move into the executive mansion all but one time.
The lone exception: Democrat Terry McAuliffe defeated Republican Ken Cuccinelli in 2013 by a 2.5% margin in an election when libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis won over 6% of the vote.
Godwin, who was elected in 1965 as a Democrat, was the first governor in American history to be elected as a member of both major parties and remains the only person elected governor twice in Virginia. (Current Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoiled McAuliffe's attempt to return to the governorship in 2021.)
So far, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is the only declared candidate for the Democratic nomination, while Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and outsider candidate Merle Rutledge are vying for the GOP spot.
If either Spanberger or Earle-Sears is elected, they will become the commonwealth’s first female governor; Earle-Sears, who was born in Jamaica, would also be Virginia’s first immigrant governor and the nation’s first Black woman to hold a state’s top office.
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth
- Henrico supervisors approve Lakeside subdivision, adopt new guidelines designed to spur affordable housing (Henrico Citizen)
- A Virginia county's economy depends on data centers. Some say they're intruding on communities. (CBS News)
- Stafford's choice: Fix stream damage or face $56,000 in penalties a day (The Free Lance–Star)*
- Fifeville faces latest hurdle in mixed-use development project (Charlottesville Tomorrow)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
