Virginian legislators and Politicians were pondering new ethics rules Virginia after Gov. Bob McDonnell was convicted on 11 counts of conspiracy, bribery and extortion, and his wife, Maureen, on nine counts.

Virginia has notoriously lax ethics rules ones and the politicians are considering possible political fallout if state legislators do not substantially limit gifts to public officials.

Across the state, and particularly in its political class, Virginia, was still reeling from sweeping guilty verdicts that were widely unexpected.

“The sense around here is it’s going to take some time to restore the public trust in elected officials,” said David Toscano, the minority leader of the House of Delegates.

The sweeping convictions, the first of a Virginia governor serving in a lineage tracing from Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, triggered an outpouring of shame from Virginia elected officials.

It is unclear whether that will lead to meaningful ethics reform in a state that has long tolerated unlimited gifts to officials because of a belief that they were above petty self-interest, a tradition known as “the Virginia way.”

The Republican Senate majority leader, Thomas K. Norment Jr., called the six-week trial “gut-wrenching” in a statement. He added, “Virginia politics will be forever changed from this experience, and I look forward to all of us being able to move on and move forward.”

Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, called on the Legislature on Friday to pass a $100 gift cap for all elected officials, like one he imposed on himself and his administration this year.

In March, the General Assembly tightened ethics laws, banning gifts above $250. But it left plenty of loopholes. It placed no limits, for example, on “intangible” gifts like travel and entertainment, much favored by lobbyists and lawmakers.

Mr. Kidd, the political scientist, said the jury’s sweeping verdict showed how far apart citizens are on ethics issues from the state’s political elites.

“The public says there ought to be bright lines between what you can take and not take,” Mr. Kidd said. “That’s what this trial exposed — the difference between how the public thinks you can behave and how the political class and the commentary class have romanticized how things happen.”