by Brandon Jarvis and Molly Manning

For Virginia’s freshman lawmakers, the first General Assembly session was a crash course on the inner workings of state government.

The first time Del. Justin Pence rose to speak on the House floor, he was nervous.

“I did a lot of listening, not a whole lot of talking,” the freshman Republican from Page County recalled after his first General Assembly session. “When I talk, I want it to be worthwhile.”

Across Capitol Square, several first-year lawmakers were navigating their own introductions to life in Richmond — learning parliamentary rules, juggling family responsibilities and discovering how quickly legislation can move or disappear inside the General Assembly.

For Virginia’s freshman class of legislators, the 2026 session became both a political education and a personal test.

Del. May Nivar, D-Henrico, went all-in on being a legislator, honing in on her identity as a problem solver. When she decided to run for office, Nivar, who said she’s always been involved in serving the community, wanted to work on the “symptoms” of community issues.

“After decades of working in the private sector, serving in the community on non-profit boards and also on a governor’s advisory board, I saw an opportunity to give back in a different way,” she said.

The fast pace of the General Assembly session suited her, she found.

“60 days may sound long, but actually, I’ve learned in the General Assembly it’s very, very fast,” Nivar said, adding that she enjoyed the fast pace. “I think it’s important for us to make quick decisions as much as possible. But I was very surprised how quickly things moved and changed.”

Del. Lily Franklin, D-Roanoke, already had some experience around the General Assembly after working for Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, for five years.

But still, even though she was familiar with the processes, Franklin said doing it was “another kind of thing.”

“There was a little bit of a learning curve — making sure you say the right things and practicing to make sure you can follow the rules,” Franklin said. “But otherwise, I did feel like that was one of my strengths coming in, is that I didn’t have to learn that in addition to all the other things happening in session.”

Like many first-year legislators, Pence described the experience as “drinking from a fire hose,” learning everything from committee politics to the rhythms of the Capitol during the fast-paced session.

“It’s neat to learn how the sausage is made,” he said. “You see people making laws and you see this stuff on the news, and then to be a part of it is pretty neat.”

Serving in the minority party gave Pence what he described as an early lesson in how power truly operates in Richmond.

“The party in charge has all the power,” he said. “They set the docket. They control what bills are heard or not.”

Still, he said the experience became a valuable opportunity to observe and learn the institution before possibly taking on a larger role in future sessions.

Legislators have to spend several weeks away from their homes during session, which can be mentally taxing on both them and their families.

“My son probably had the hardest time with it,” Pence said, while noting that the reason he is in Richmond is to try to make Virginia a better place for his son in the future.

Nivar expressed her gratitude for her family’s support throughout the session, which she said allowed her to focus both in and out of the office. Her youngest child is 19 years old, and she said juggling younger children and time off from a full-time job would make the role much more challenging to balance.

“It is not for everybody, but that’s also one of the reasons why I am in the role that I am — is I want to see if there are any ways that we can make it easier for more people to be able to run for office that reflect the face of Virginia,” she said.

Balancing work and family is something Franklin described as difficult, but entirely worth it.

“Every day I can fight for my community and make sure that they’re getting the help that they deserve is worth it for me.”

While these legislators come from different corners of the commonwealth, they show up in Richmond with similar goals.

Franklin, an elected Democrat from Southwest Virginia, which is almost exclusively represented by Republicans, said she wanted to make sure her part of the commonwealth was not forgotten by a Democratic majority.

“It’s what made me want to run for the seat originally, and why when I lost , I came back,” she said. “Because I just think it’s so important that we have somebody that’s advocating for that region of the state in the majority party.”

Nivar, who serves on the Energy Subcommittee of Labor and Commerce, said she is using the downtime before the next session to learn more about the types of legislation that will come before her during the 2027 session.

“I’ve dedicated myself while we are out of session to really learn more about the industry so that I am better prepared about all the various angles and perspectives as it relates to the energy sector,” she said.

Nivar also wants to try to figure out how to educate the public on how the legislative process actually works in Richmond.

“I’ve had conversations where people would bring up certain bills to me, but the reality is I never saw those bills if they never made it out of a committee,” she said. “So that’s an example of a process that goes along the continuum, but so much changes throughout the process between committees and crossover. I just think the general public doesn’t understand that, and I think there’s a huge opportunity to change that.”

Though he acknowledged the political necessity of raising money, Pence said asking others to donate to his campaign feels fundamentally different from fundraising for community organizations earlier in life.

“It’s hard to go out here and ask your friends for money,” he said, noting that he has helped fundraise for organizations all of his life, but asking for money for himself just doesn’t sit right with him.

“I always was good at it, but you know it’s different when you’re raising money for yourself,” Pence said, adding that he reconciles it by noting the money is not just for him, but for people who share his goals for Virginia.

In the end, Pence wants to remain himself, a farmer, father and husband from rural Virginia.

“I don’t classify myself as a politician,” he said. “I just try to be an ordinary person and I hope I don’t change because of this role.”


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