Governor Ralph Northam
A Record of Unprecedented Progress
Virginia: The Country's Strongest Economy
Virginia is now the country’s Top State for Business —and becoming an even better place to work.
Under Governor Northam, Virginia has secured
$80 billion in capital investment and more than
100,000 jobs.
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That’s four times more investment than any previous Governor.
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Governor Northam opened his term by negotiating the plan to welcome Amazon’s new corporate headquarters to Virginia—a $2.5 billion investment that will result in at least 37,000 jobs. (More than 238 cities sought Amazon, but they picked Virginia.)
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Historic investments in Agriculture and Forestry represent more than $290 million in new capital investment, nearly 1,100 new jobs, and commitments to purchase more than $539 million of Virginia-grown agriculture and Virginia successfully competed with California and Texas in landing forestry products.
Virginia: The Country's Strongest Economy
Virginia is now the country’s Top State for Business — and becoming an even better place to work.
Under Governor Northam, Virginia has secured $80 billion in capital investment and more than 100,000 jobs.
-
That’s four times more investment than any previous Governor.
-
Governor Northam opened his term by negotiating the plan to welcome Amazon’s new corporate headquarters to Virginia — a $2.5 billion investment that will result in at least 37,000 jobs. (More than 238 cities sought Amazon, but they picked Virginia.)
-
Historic investments in Agriculture and Forestry represent more than $290 million in new capital investment, nearly 1,100 new jobs, and commitments to purchase more than $539 million of Virginia-grown agriculture and Virginia successfully competed with California and Texas in landing forestry products.
Virginia's Finances Are Strong
Virginia is now the country’s Top State for Business —and becoming an even better place to work.
When COVID-19 hit, Virginia helped people and small businesses recover.
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Governor Northam leaves office proposing more than $3.8 billion in financial reserves. That’s 16.8% of state revenues—and more than eight times the amount Virginia had in the bank when he took office. In 2018, those same reserves stood at just $440 million, so he set a then-ambitious goal to get to 8% during his four-year term. Four years later, he’s doubled that goal.
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This is unprecedented in Virginia history.
Virginia Offers a World-Class Education
Under Governor Northam, early childhood education is now available to more Virginia families than ever before.
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Since 2018 Virginia has more than doubled public Pre-K funding to serve a record total of more than 25,000 three and four-year-olds.
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Virginia has expanded access to affordable child care to more families than ever before, serving over 27,000 children and exceeding pre-pandemic participation.
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The Commonwealth has received national attention for investing in an early childhood teacher incentive grant program that has cut turnover in half in participating classrooms.
Virginia is for Healthy Living
Over the past four years — and throughout the pandemic — Governor Northam has served as the country’s only Governor who is also a physician.
He has led Virginia’s work to expand access to healthcare — and followed data and science to lead the Commonwealth’s response to COVID-19.
Virginia is Strengthening Civil Rights and Participation in Democracy.
Under Governor Northam, Virginia is making it easier to vote — even as other states make voting harder.
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Virginia’s 45-day early-voting period is now one of the longest in the country.
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Virginia now allows voters to vote absentee — no excuses required.
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Virginia now makes voter registration automatic through DMV.
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Virginia has made Election Day a state holiday.
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People voted in record numbers, thanks to these changes: More than 3.3 million people voted in 2021’s statewide elections — more than a 20% increase over four years.
Virginia is Protecting Public Safety and Reforming Criminal Justice
Under Governor Northam, Virginia finally passed common-sense laws to prevent gun violence — to keep communities safer by keeping prohibited persons away from firearms.
The new laws:
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Require background checks on all gun sales.
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Enact a Substantial Risk Protective Order.
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Require reporting of lost and stolen firearms.
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Strengthen the law to prevent children from accessing firearms.
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Reinstate Virginia’s successful one-handgun-a-month policy — first passed 30 years ago.
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Prohibit firearms at polling places.
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Prohibit possession of firearms by persons subject to protective orders.
Virginia is Protecting Our Natural Environment
Virginia has created the strongest Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan in Virginia history under the leadership of Governor Northam, who grew up on the Bay.
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Virginia now provides more funding for the Bay than under any previous Governor — $756 million to help farmers, localities, and wastewater treatment operations reduce pollution from nutrients and sediment.
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With Governor Northam’s final budget, Virginia will have dedicated more than $1 billion to clean up the nation’s largest estuary.
Virginia Values Veterans and Military Families
Under Governor Northam, Virginia doubled the number of veterans hired.
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The Virginia Values Veterans program set a goal to hire more than 65,000 veterans — and V3 blew past that goal… with more than 81,000 veterans hired.
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That’s more than double the 31,000 veterans hired in 2018, when Governor Northam took office.
Virginia is Investing in Infrastructure
Governor Northam took aggressive steps to secure more than $2 billion to expand broadband — putting Virginia on track to achieve universal coverage by 2024, becoming one of the first states to achieve this important goal.
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Virginia was putting just $4 million into broadband expansion when Governor Northam took office. Estimates showed Virginia had more than 660,000 unserved homes and businesses. So he set an ambitious goal — universal broadband within a decade — and went to work. He dedicated state and federal dollars to this important goal, boosting public dollars to more than $874 million and leveraging local and private matching dollars.
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Altogether, this work has secured $2 billion in public-private investments to expand broadband access to more than 390,000 homes and businesses in unserved communities, especially in rural areas, small towns, and cities — and to do it four years sooner than the original goal.
Governor Northam… your heart is for people. You have done more in Virginia to eradicate racism and to bring about racial equality, than anything that’s been done here since the Civil Rights Act. I want to thank you… and the staff you have gathered around you… It’s really been a radical change. We appreciate the fact that you recognize our sovereignty and that we are brothers and sisters, walking along that road together to make things better for everyone in the Commonwealth. May God bless you and your family.
— Chief G. Anne Nelson Richardson
Rappahannock Tribe