After 12 terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, Steve Landes (R-Weyers Cave) has announced that he will not seek re-election this November. However, the senior Republican legislator is set to run for an open clerk of the court position in Augusta County as Carol Brydge announced she plans to retire April 1.
Landes’ decision comes as a surprise just as Republicans gear up to defend their slim majority this November as all 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for reelection. In the House, Republicans have a 51-49 majority, and a 21-19 majority in the State Senate.
As the 25th House District’s representative, which covers portions of Albemarle, Augusta, and Rockingham counties, Delegate Landes also served as chairman of the House Education Committee, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and vice chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). Moreover, he was a member of the Rules and Privileges and Elections committees, the House Select Committee on School Safety, and the lower chamber’s member on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates.
During his tenure in the statehouse in Richmond, which began in 1996, Landes focused on promoting economic development, fostering education innovations, and increasing healthcare choice, access, and affordability. According to his website, he was named the 2016 Legislator of the Year by both the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and named the Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust’s “2018 Champion of Affordable College” for his work during last year’s legislative session.
During the 2019 session, Delegate Landes introduced H.B. 1729 as a part of the House Select Committee on School Safety’s 24-point priority recommendation list. The bill would require school counselors across the state to spend at least 80 percent of their time counseling students.
Another important piece of legislation from Landes this year, H.B. 1611, provides that the ratio of the assets to the obligations of the Virginia College Savings Plan shall not exceed 105 percent, given the plan is the most well-funded its been in its history. He said the bill “will have a significant impact on families being able to keep more money in their pockets and attend college at a lower cost” in a news release.
As of Monday, no one announced their intent to run for the Republican nomination for the soon-to-be vacant seat. The 25th District Legislative District Republican Committee voted in February to hold a party canvass for its candidate. The deadline to file with the committee is March 6 at 5:00 p.m.