Government/Politics: C. TODD GILBERT

A member of Virginia’s House of Delegates since 2006, Gilbert served as House majority leader before the chamber flipped to Democratic control in 2020. Now that it has flipped back to Republicans, he has been elected speaker.

A staunch conservative, Gilbert has received ‘A’ grades on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s annual report card since 2012 in recognition of his pro-business voting record. The Family Foundation, an organization that supports anti-abortion policies, named him its Legislator of the Year in 2013, and in 2017 the National Rifle Association presented him its Defender of Freedom Award.

This year, the Republican-led House and Democratic Senate sparred over the state’s budget, coming to a compromise in June that included about $4 billion in tax relief, a priority for Gilbert and Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

Gilbert holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Virginia and earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University, where he was president of the Student Bar Association. Previously an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Lynchburg and Shenandoah County, he now has a private law practice in Woodstock.