Virginia Senate Dems Will Sue to Keep Majority

Virginia Democrats will sue to keep their majority in the Virginia Senate. The Nov. 8 election split the Republicans and Democrats in the state Senate at 20-20, and gives Republican Lt. Gov Bill Bolling a tie-breaking vote.

The suit would determine whether he has the power to break ties in Senate votes.  

Democratic Senate Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax), said that Bolling does not have the constitutional right to break ties in cases of "re-organizing the Senate, the budget, or appointing judges," he said. "Further, the Republicans are ignoring the will of the people. Just two weeks ago, the citizens of Virginia elected 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans to the Senate. They have called for divided government and not one-party rule.”

Last week, the Virginia Republican Senate Caucus declared Sen. Tommy Norment (R-3) as majority leader after the Democrats lost their 18-22 majority. Norment wants redistricting back on the table. 

“I don’t know how the Senate as a body feels about it, but I know that I and some of my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, want to revisit the issue,” Norment told the Virginia Gazette on Friday.

Saslaw says the move is "another abuse of power plain and simple. Even Senator Norment admitted that nothing like this has been done before in Virginia."

Does the majority belong to the Republicans?

"The first thing Senate Republicans do is claim a majority they do not have and announce their intention to re-draw Senate district lines," said Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Donald McEachin (D-Henrico). "Republicans are showing us right now that their number one priority is the accumulation and exercise of political power for their own benefit.”

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, told the Washington Post that “on organizational matters, the lieutenant governor breaks the tie vote,” and that “In terms of internal [organization], I think the senators are perfectly able to work those out and handle those accordingly.”