Where do Virginia's leaders stand on the Dominion-NextEra merger?

RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion Energy has spent millions building relationships with Virginia's political leaders. Now that Dominion has agreed to be bought by Florida-based NextEra Energy, those leaders face a simple question: do they support the deal?

RVN could not find clear public positions on the merger from the top recipients of Dominion money. Their answers belong on the record before the Nov. 17 hearing.

The recipients and their totals

According to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), these are among Dominion's largest recipients:

• House Speaker Don Scott (D): $600,409 in 2025-26, and $1.12 million in 2023-24, when he led all Democratic recipients.
• Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D): $600,000 in 2025-26.
• Sen. Mamie Locke (D): $600,000 in 2025-26 and $750,000 in 2023-24.
• Del. Charniele Herring (D): $625,000 in 2025-26.
• Attorney General Jason Miyares (R): $1.42 million in 2025-26, the top Republican recipient.

Other major Democratic recipients in 2025-26 include Shannon Taylor's attorney general campaign ($775,000), Underground to Uplift PAC ($755,408), Leaders for an Equitable Tomorrow PAC ($601,612), Virginia Future Generations PAC ($600,000) and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney ($427,604).

Positions on the merger for each of these leaders are unknown to RVN at this time. We are not assuming that a donation means support.

Why their views matter

The State Corporation Commission decides the merger, in Case PUR-2026-00112. But the General Assembly elects SCC judges and writes the utility laws the commission applies. The attorney general's office also participates in utility cases on behalf of consumers, and the companies have answered its discovery questions in this case (staff testimony, pp. 37, 149).

On Monday, SCC staff concluded the companies have not shown the deal would protect customers, because it would expose Dominion Energy Virginia to the risks of NextEra's unregulated businesses (p. 6). Staff recommended approval only with conditions such as an independent board, a 10-year jobs floor and dividend limits (p. 7). Those are the kinds of terms legislators could weigh in on. The companies have offered a typical household a $10 monthly bill credit for 48 months (p. 190) and a five-year floor of 10,431 Virginia jobs (p. 136), and staff wants that floor extended to 10 years (p. 140).

The bigger picture

VPAP data shows Dominion's top 20 Democratic recipients took at least $8.42 million in 2025-26 and at least $7.15 million in 2023-24. Its top 20 Republican recipients received about $5.58 million in 2025-26 and $5.06 million in 2023-24. Virginia Scope reports that since 2018, Dominion has given nearly $18 million to Democrats and more than $15 million to Republicans. At the federal level, OpenSecrets reports Dominion Energy PAC gave $117,800 to Democratic candidates and $162,500 to Democratic PACs and party committees in 2023-24.

That is the context for a hypothetical every one of these leaders should be asked about. If the merged company, run from Juno Beach, cut off Virginia political contributions, Democrats would lose at least $7 million to $8.5 million per two-year state cycle from Dominion's top recipients, plus about $280,000 per federal cycle. The staff testimony says nothing about political giving. NextEra has its own PAC and could continue giving. Republicans would feel a loss too, though a smaller one.

The questions they should answer

RVN is sending each leader the same questions:

1. Do you support the Dominion-NextEra merger as proposed?
2. Do you support SCC staff's recommended conditions, including the 10-year jobs floor and the independent Dominion Energy Virginia board?
3. Should a utility seeking regulatory approval be allowed to make unlimited contributions to the legislators who elect its regulators?
4. Will you continue to accept contributions from Dominion or NextEra while the case is pending?

We will update this story as responses arrive. Readers can review each leader's Dominion contributions on VPAP.

Page numbers refer to the 201-page public version of SCC Staff's prefiled testimony, Volume I of VII, in Case PUR-2026-00112 (SCC document 261030140), filed Oct. 19, 2026.