10 key players to watch during the 2012 General Assembly session

Sen. Richard H. Black

R-Loudoun

Black, who served in the House for eight years before his defeat in 2005, returns to the General Assembly after winning the race for a new state Senate seat. A social conservative, Black drew national attention when he distributed plastic fetuses to lawmakers to affirm his opposition to abortion. He is expected to pick up where he left off and could push the party to more conservative stances on social issues.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling

With an evenly divided Senate, Bolling is likely to cast a number of tie-breaking votes on controversial issues. Halfway through his second term in the No. 2 job, Bolling has broken ties 16 times. As he prepares to run for governor in 2013, his GOP rival, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, and Democrats will be watching closely. His politically ambitious boss, McDonnell, might appreciate Bolling just saying no to a couple of pieces of controversial legislation that he would rather not sign.

Del. M. Kirkland Cox

House majority leader, R-Colonial Heights

The Chesterfield County government teacher will lead a fattened House Republican majority that gained seats in the November elections. Cox also is second in command on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, putting him at the center of important legislative and budgetary decisions.

Ken Cuccinelli

Attorney general

Cuccinelli, one of the highest-profile attorneys general in the country, will draw even more attention in 2012 now that he has announced his intentions to challenge Bolling for the GOP nomination for governor in 2013. Despite a legal setback in his challenge to President Barack Obama's health-care law, Cuccinelli will be a prominent conservative voice in the court of public opinion on the issue. He is likely to build his limited-government street credibility with continuing challenges to Environmental Protection Agency regulations and legal opinions on controversial issues.

Del. William J. Howell

Speaker of the House, R-Stafford

Presiding over a House with a heftier Republican majority means Howell is in position to put even more muscle behind such GOP articles of faith as firearms rights, abortion restrictions and business-friendly legislation. However, the 2012 session could be among Howell's last. He has signaled that he may retire when Gov. Bob McDonnell leaves the governorship after the 2013 election. Positioned to follow Howell as speaker is his hand-picked successor, Cox.

Gov. Bob McDonnell

In the third legislative session of his administration, the governor is proposing his first two-year budget. It would balance increases in transportation, higher education and the state's pension system with reductions largely to Medicaid and public education funding. He will govern with a strengthened Republican majority in the House of Delegates and a politically split Senate. And it all happens as speculation persists of McDonnell as a vice presidential contender.

Sen. Ryan T. McDougle

R-Hanover

McDougle, a lawyer, is an up-and-comer among conservatives in the party, having played a key role in the GOP's successful 2011 Senate elections and in outmaneuvering Democrats last session to get Senate passage of stricter regulations on the state's abortion clinics. He begins his second full term with a title: Senate Republican Caucus chairman.

Sen. A. Donald McEachin

D-Henrico

The newly installed Senate Democratic Caucus chairman has been at the vanguard against McDonnell administration policies and GOP legislative incursions on matters ranging from guns and abortion regulations to anti-discrimination policy and redistricting. With the Senate now evenly divided, and a possible congressional or statewide run in his future, expect the imposing legislator to assume a greater leadership role in the loyal opposition.

Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr.

R-James City

With the likely shift in Senate power to Republicans, Norment will assume the leadership role in the 40-member chamber. He is also set to become chairman of the powerful Courts of Justice Committee, which handles bills on guns, criminal justice, judges and other key issues. In that role and on the Senate floor, Norment, who is among the more moderate voices in the GOP, will have to manage a caucus that has become more conservative.

Del. David J. Toscano

House minority leader, D-Charlottesville

House Democrats tapped Toscano to lead their caucus, which shrank to 32 of the 100 seats after the November elections. He replaces former House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong, who lost his re-election bid.

Compiled by Olympia Meola and Jim Nolan