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He beat out two other veteran lawmakers for the role: Del. Charniele L. Herring (Alexandria), who is Democratic caucus chairwoman, and Del. Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan Jr. (D-Fairfax).
Several Democrats said they supported Scott as the best leader to help the party regain a majority in the House.
Scott told reporters that he intends to be an inclusive leader who helps Democrats do a better job of communicating and achieving their priorities.
“There are too many people that are hurting. There are too many people that need us. And when we don’t do the things that we promise to do, then real people hurt,” he said.
Scott accused Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other Republicans of using the pain of inflation and other ills as political talking points, and said Democrats instead want to solve problems such as keeping communities safe, providing excellent education and expanding access to health care.
“We don’t want to fight the culture wars,” he said, and took a swipe at Republicans for failing to work for gun control in the wake of recent firearm violence.
“The same people who said they did not want people to wear a mask will have our children wearing body armor pretty soon because they want to arm teachers to fight,” he said.
A spokesman for House Republican leadership declined to comment immediately on Scott’s new role.
Scott, a lawyer, is part of a new wave of House Democrats elected since Donald Trump took the White House in 2016 and energized opposition to his Republican administration. He won his seat in 2019 and again last year in a safe Democratic district.
Known as a fierce floor debater, Scott cast himself early in this year’s legislative session as a voice of opposition to the policies of Youngkin. After Youngkin invoked unity and religion when he was sworn in as governor in January, Scott made an impassioned floor speech imploring the governor to stop using race as a way to fire up conservatives, citing his continued campaign against racial equity policies in public schools.
“So far, what I’ve seen from his Day 1 activities is not someone who is a man of faith, not a Christian, but someone who wants to divide the commonwealth,” Scott said in that speech.
Youngkin responded by walking across the Capitol for a private meeting with Scott in his legislative office. The two shook hands, and Scott said later he was looking for a more cooperative tone from the governor. But as the legislative session played out, Scott continued to serve as a provocative voice against Youngkin’s policies, particularly in the areas of race and criminal justice.
Scott brings a unique background to the role: A former Navy officer who was born in Texas, he served time in prison on drug charges in the 1990s. He had his civil rights restored by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) of Virginia and went on to a prominent role in legal and community circles in Portsmouth.
Democrats selected Scott as their leader Wednesday morning in a closed caucus meeting. Each candidate for the leadership role made a speech to the delegates — Sullivan appearing by way of a recording because he was on a personal trip overseas. The vote was conducted by secret ballot.
With the General Assembly about to convene to take up the state budget, Democrats ran out of time to tally the results of the caucus vote. They made the final count later Wednesday during a break in the floor session.
Soon after the vote, both the House and the Senate began debate on the budget, which includes billions in tax relief as well as more money for teachers and other public employees and record spending on education.
The budget deal, reached by House and Senate negotiators in the weeks since the General Assembly wrapped up its regular session March 15, also includes language setting out new penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Youngkin is hoping to get at least a modest victory on his campaign for sweeping tax cuts. Republicans who control the House of Delegates had passed a package of tax breaks that cost about $3 billion more than those passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, leading to a stalemate that prevented lawmakers from agreeing on a budget during this year’s regular legislative session.
Last week, negotiators said they had finally reached a compromise deal that gives Youngkin some but not all of his wishes. The centerpiece: increasing the standard income tax deduction, which Youngkin had wanted to double. The legislature’s proposed budget would fall just short of that, increasing it from the current $4,500 for individuals and $9,000 for joint filers to $8,000 and $16,000, respectively.
But the increases would take place only if state revenue continues to grow by certain amounts, and would end before the 2026 tax year.
The agreement also calls for cutting the 1.5 percent state tax on groceries but not the additional 1 percent grocery tax that localities may levy. Youngkin had wanted to eliminate both.
Lawmakers did not agree to suspend the state’s gasoline tax, which Youngkin had proposed. But they went along with his proposal to reduce taxes on military pensions, which they would phase in over several years.
The General Assembly’s proposed budget also achieves a longtime goal of Democrats: making 15 percent of the earned income tax credit refundable for low-income working families.
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