RICHMOND, VA — Last night, Virginia voters elected a clean energy majority to the General Assembly. Under the leadership of Governor Ralph Northam, who has pledged to achieve 100% clean energy in Virginia, Democrats now lead the House of Delegates 55-45 and the State Senate 21-19. The elections also saw record numbers of candidates refusing to accept campaign contributions from utility monopolies like Dominion Energy, including seven winning state senators and 32 winning delegates.
Statement from Harrison Wallace, Virginia Director of the CCAN Action Fund:
“There was a political earthquake last night, and the epicenter is the old State House building in downtown Richmond. For the first time in the history of this nation’s oldest continuous representative government, Virginia will be represented by a clean energy majority.
“We are also proud of the record numbers of candidates who refused to accept campaign contributions from mega-polluter monopoly Dominion Energy. Dominion’s stranglehold on the Virginia state legislature is slowly loosening.
“Now it’s up to our leaders to put Virginia on the path to 100% clean energy. We look forward to working with our clean energy champions to pass strong climate policy this spring.”
CONTACT:
Harrison Wallace, Virginia Director, 804-305-1472, harrison@chesapeakeclimate.org
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, 240-630-1889, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org
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CCAN Action Fund is the advocacy arm of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For 16 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.