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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay
By Charles Creitz
Published February 27, 2026
The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted themselves a nearly 300% pay increase if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.
The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on "affordability," with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.
Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their dayjobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.
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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.
Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.
Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that "teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%."
"The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse," the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the "wrong time" to address lawmaker pay.
"It's supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly," he said.
Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.
In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one "enriching himself, his family and his friends" and said Republicans are the ones "making your life more expensive."
"I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare," she said.
"Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night."
"Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America," Spanberger said Tuesday.
The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.
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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/virginia-dems-talk-affordability-vote-nearly-triple-pay