Governor Glenn Youngkin, First Lady of Virginia Suzanne S. Youngkin, Lt. Governor Winsome Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares and Legislators after the signing of Virginia's budget on the Capitol steps on Thursday, September 14, 2023. by Christian Martinez is licensed under CC
After successfully passing Virginia’s budget and delivering tax relief to families across the state, Republicans are eager to deliver even more for the Commonwealth. Republicans must win three Senate seats to tear down the Democrats’ brick wall in the Senate and deliver even more tax relief for Virginians in 2024.
Tax relief has faced an uphill battle due to Senate Democrats’ ferocious efforts to kill any extent of relief in the budget. Democrat Senator Louise Lucas once said that “we need to make sure we put money into the pockets of hard-working families.” Yet her response to Governor Youngkin’s proposed tax cuts, which would have saved the average family more than $1,900, was “to hell with [Youngkin’s] budget proposal.”
Such outspoken hostility towards tax relief will become a major problem for Democrats this November. Going into this pivotal election year, these are the key races to follow: Districts 12, 16, 24, and 31.
District 16’s Senate race, between Senator Siobhan Dunnavant (R) and Schuyler VanValkenberg, is highly competitive. Dunnavant has demonstrated time and time again that she is pro-taxpayer. She has recently expressed her support for cutting the corporate tax rate from 6% to 5%. Cutting the corporate tax rate would help propel Virginia’s economy and make the state more competitive. VanValkenburg’s definition of economic opportunity encourages frivolous government spending on programs that target only some Virginians, not all. VanValkenburg would rather waste taxpayer money on expansionary efforts instead of putting it back in their pockets.
In District 12, Glen Sturtevant will face Natan McKenzie. Sturtevant has expressed that he is eager to “reduce taxes to lower costs for Virginians,” whereas McKenzie neglects this issue when outlining his priorities. Sturtevant firmly opposes any increase to taxes, wanting to help ensure Virginia remains a state that is pro-family, pro-taxpayer, and pro-business.
In District 31, Juan Pablo Segura will face Russet Perry for a seat in the Senate. Segura is a close ally to Governor Youngkin and has a reputation for being a commonsense tax-cutting conservative. Like Youngkin, Segura is committed to “lower[ing] the costs of living and increasing the return of surplus tax dollars” for all Virginians of all incomes. Like her Democratic colleagues, Perry would rather put budget surpluses towards government expansion, taking money away from families who have been hit hard by inflation. She too fails to address the issue of tax relief when establishing the priorities of her campaign.
In District 24, Danny Diggs will take on incumbent Senator Monty Mason (D). Diggs, retired Sheriff of York County and Poquoson, is pro-taxpayer and pro-family. Throughout his campaign, Diggs has continuously supported the Governor’s efforts for permanent tax relief. Monty Mason claims that one of his top priorities is cutting costs for families. In fact, he went on record to say that he “believe[s] that state budgets are reflective of priorities.” But when given the opportunity to act on that belief, he voted against Gov. Youngkin’s tax-cutting budget. Diggs rightly called out Mason’s hypocrisy regarding the issue, citing that he and the remainder of the blue brick wall caused major negotiation delays.
Early voting in Virginia begins today. Voters should remember who supported Governor Youngkin’s efforts to give money back to Virginians and those who have been consistently resisting relief for the Commonwealth.