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RICHMOND, Va. — Freedom Virginia — a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to building a Commonwealth where all families have the financial freedom to thrive — today released its 2026 Affordability Scorecard.
This session, Freedom Virginia advocated for and tracked votes on key bills that would create a Virginia that hardworking people and families can afford. The legislation impacted areas including health care, paid leave, labor and consumer protection, fair taxes, child care, energy and housing. The full list of bills can be found here.
Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) and Delegate Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg) were selected as Freedom Virginia’s Legislators of the Year. Senator Deeds patroned the Senate Affordable Medicine Act, a first-in-the-nation policy that would have expanded Medicare’s negotiated Maximum Fair Prices, lowered prescription drug costs, saving Virginians nearly $100 million each year in out-of-pocket costs and premiums. Delegate Cole patroned the House Faith in Housing legislation that will allow faith-based organizations to develop housing on their properties, helping to fix the shortage of 300,000 affordable homes in Virginia and giving hardworking people more opportunities to own a home and build for their future.
“Far too many people are forced to choose between filling a prescription and putting food on their table,” said Senator Deeds. “I was proud to carry legislation this year that took an innovative approach to make drugs more affordable for Virginians. The bill was ultimately vetoed, but I will just work that much harder next year, with partners like Freedom Virginia, to make life more affordable for all Virginians.”
“Virginia is not just in a crisis of affordability but also a crisis of faith; a crisis of faith in our power to solve problems,” said Delegate Cole. “For us to fix the problems of today, we have to believe we can fix them. We have to believe we can overturn broken systems and build better ones in their place. And we must believe that breaking with tradition is not because we have fallen out of faith, but because those who cling to the past have lost theirs.”
“With state legislatures increasingly serving as the front line on affordability from healthcare to energy to housing, and this Scorecard is our way of making sure Virginians know who’s fighting for them,” said Freedom Virginia Co-Executive Director Rhena Hicks. “Every year, our Scorecard shows Virginians exactly where their elected officials stand on making life more affordable for Virginia workers and families. This year’s Legislators of the Year, Affordability Champions, and Economic Security Allies proved that real, meaningful relief for working Virginia families isn’t a partisan talking point but a policy choice made session after session in Richmond.”
“The 2026 session made massive progress towards making life more affordable for regular people, but the work continues,” said Freedom Virginia Co-Executive Director Ryan O’Toole. “Looking already towards the 2027 session, we will continue to urge policymakers to choose regular people’s interests over those of corporations and special interests, including Big Pharma, Big Tech, or others that stand for a cautious status quo that continues to exacerbate the affordability crisis.”
Honorees were selected based on their voting records and leadership on Freedom Virginia’s priorities that would ensure Virginia is a place hardworking people can afford. Legislators were chosen both based on their affirmative votes for economic security policies and also if they were the chief or co-patron on four or more of our priority bills. Freedom Virginia is highlighting the following leaders as champions and allies:
Legislators of the Year:
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