With the surprise election of Gov. Glenn Youngkin in Virginia, things have been contentious in the Commonwealth. Democrats aren’t used to having a Republican who follows through on his promises, but that’s exactly what Youngkin did, signing orders to ban Critical Race Theory and abolishing district-wide mask mandates for school children, among other things.

The mask mandate issue is already leading to legal challenges, with Arlington County and Fairfax County refusing to abide by Youngkin’s order. But the latest news may make those challenges obsolete. Apparently, the hero Virginians need to rid their children of ineffective, pointless face diapers is…a Democrat?

That’s the word from VA State Senator Chap Peterson, who represents Fairfax County, a deep blue area of the state.

🚨VA DEM St. Sen. Chap Peterson demands Fairfax Co. schools end mask mandate or he'll join w GOP to end it.

"The forced masking policy is going to end very soon, i.e. in a few weeks. Otherwise, the General Assembly will again step in. IT IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE LONG-TERM SOLUTION.”

— Keith Appell (@KeithAppell) January 24, 2022

Here’s the situation. The Virginia Senate is currently led by Democrats by a one-vote margin, including an absolute maniac named L. Louise Lucas, who is auditioning to be the Nikki Fried of her state. Further, there is a vague law on the books which denotes that Virginia schools are supposed to follow CDC guidelines as closely as possible. That’s the hold-up on Youngkin’s order going into full effect.

Until this point, it was assumed that because of those political dynamics, the courts would have to decide whether that law effectively neutered Youngkin’s order. But with Peterson saying he’ll join the Republicans to give them the votes needed to get rid of the prior law, that completely screws up the resistance plan being put into motion by these far-left school districts.

Worth noting that Chap represents the heart of Fairfax County // he’s been hearing nonstop from frustrated parents over the last two years.

— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) January 24, 2022

Of course, there is a bit of a “just wait two weeks” vibe going on with Peterson saying he’s going to take action in a “few weeks.” Still, having him as an ally in this fight is still a very welcome development, even if things are slightly delayed. If left up to the courts, there’s no telling what would happen with Youngkin’s order, but if Peterson and the Republicans take action, that will all be moot.

As an exit thought, it certainly seems as if some Democrats are beginning to read the tea leaves regarding mask mandates and parents being upset. If a Democrat from Fairfax County is getting enough pushback to force him to take this step, you can only imagine how bad things are for some others around the state. The only question is whether more will defect when the time comes.