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A victory in Northern Virginia helped push Democrats to take control of the Virginia general assembly after sweeping multiple key races late Tuesday night.
After campaigning on abortion rights, Democrats dashed Republicans’ hopes of creating a trifecta with control of both houses of the general assembly and the governorship.
After midnight, it was announced Democrats took hold of 51 seats in the House of Delegates — enough to give them a narrow majority in the 100-seat chamber. With the general assembly currently divided, Republicans formerly held a majority in the House of Delegates and Democrats held a majority in the 40-seat state Senate.
A victory in District 65, which includes parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, moved Democrats into holding the majority in the House. Democrat Joshua Cole, a pastor and president of the Stafford County NAACP, who previously represented another district before losing in 2021, won the race with 52.8% of the vote.
His Republican challenger Lee Peters, a Marine and captain in the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office held 47.2% of the votes, The Associated Press declared with 90% of the votes counted.
Control of the Senate came down to a race outside of Northern Virginia in the Virginia Beach area. Democrat Aaron Rouse, an incumbent, won 56.3% of the vote over Republican Kevin Adams, who fell more than 10% behind his opponent with 43.8% in District 22. The Associated Press called the race around 11:30 p.m. with 99% of the votes counted.
Results are not official until certified by the Virginia Department of Elections.
At stake in Tuesday’s election was the direction the commonwealth will take on a number of controversial issues, including abortion access, gun laws and more — as well as the political future of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has been stumping for Republicans on the campaign trail.
Adding to the anticipation for Democrats, several competitive races were called in their favor just before midnight when control of the lower chamber was still up for grabs.
Democratic newcomer Josh Thomas won with 51.6% of the vote over Republican John Stirrup who had 48.4% of the vote in House District 21 in Prince William County, The Associated Press declared with 97% of votes counted.
Thomas is an attorney and former Marine Corps officer. Stirrup served on the county’s Board of Supervisors from 2003-2011.
Nearby in the Manassas area of Prince William County, Republican Ian Lovejoy succeeded over his Democratic opponent with 52.7% of the vote in District 22. Travis Nembhard earned 47.3% of the vote, according to The Associated Press after 97% of votes were counted.
Lovejoy may be familiar to some voters as he previously served on the Manassas City Council. Nembhard is a former attorney and D.C. administrative law judge.
Democrats also succeeded in several key races in Northern Virginia while holding onto seats in solidly-blue regions in the Senate.
Among the tossups bagged by Democrats in the Senate is District 31, which includes parts of Loudoun and Fauquier counties. Democrat Russet Perry appears to have won the contest with 52.6% of the vote. Republican Juan Segura fell behind with 47.4% of the vote, The Associated Press concluded with 92% of the votes counted.
Segura is the founder of a maternal health care startup and Perry is a former prosecutor and ex-CIA officer.
Tight races in Northern Virginia
Ahead of the election, analysts said it could all come down to a handful of tossup districts, including a few in Northern Virginia.
House
In Loudoun and Fauquier counties, Republican Geary Higgins won in the red-leaning District 30 (according to VPAP) with 53.5% of the vote while Democrat Rob Banse had 46.5%, according to The Associated Press as of midnight.
Higgins served two terms on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors representing the Catoctin District. Banse is a former Episcopal Church pastor who retired in 2018.
Senate
A key win that aided Democrats in maintaining control of the Senate happened outside of the D.C. region. Democrat Schuyler VanValkenburg in Senate District 16 unseated the Republican incumbent, Siobhan Dunnavant in Henrico County, The Associated Press declared with 97% of the vote tallied. VanValkenburg took 52.8% of the vote and Dunnavant held just 47.2%.
That victory made it difficult for Republicans to gain the seats needed to control the Senate.
Three-term Del. Danica Roem, a Democrat, has prevailed in Senate District 30, which is made up of part of Prince William County, as well as the entirety of Manassas City and Manassas Park. While the area leans Democratic, according to VPAP, it was previously seen as a potential grab for Republicans.
With 96% of the vote counted, Roem appears to have beat Republican Bill Woolf, a political newcomer. Roem held 51.7% of the vote while Woolf earned 48.3%, The Associated Press declared.
Roem worked as a journalist before her time in office. Woolf has worked in law enforcement and currently leads a consultant group.
In an another tight race that’s yet to be called, voters in Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties have three choices on the ballot to represent District 27 in the Senate and none of them are an incumbent.
Votes are still being tallied with Democrat Joel Griffin and Republican Tara Durant at times appearing to be neck and neck. Republican Tara Durant leads with 48.33% of the vote and Griffin holds 46.14%, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. Independent candidate Monica Gary holds 4.6% of the votes counted, as of midnight.
Durant is finishing her first term in the House of Delegates, having been elected in 2021 in the “red wave” that also brought Youngkin to the governor’s mansion. The former teacher is competing against Griffin, who served in the Marine Corps and has worked as a government contractor for 20 years.
Gary successfully ran as an independent for the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and started her term in 2022. The wild-card candidate has also been open about her past work as a stripper.
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What’s at stake?
The political fight over abortion has been a central theme in many of the key races. Virginia is the only Southern state that’s yet to put further restrictions on the procedure since Roe vs. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022.
If Republicans had been able to take hold of both chambers, analysts ahead of the election said they would likely pass legislation restricting abortion — Youngkin has proposed a 15-week ban.
Previously, analysts had believed that in the event Virginia is washed in a “red wave,” it could signal support for a 2024 presidential run from the conservative governor who in the past has denied any interest in running.
Democrats, meanwhile, are looking to retake control of the House and have succeeded in maintaining their hold on the Senate — strengthening their hand against Youngkin in legislative wrangling in Richmond next year.
This is the first general election under new district boundaries, which were redrawn during redistricting. This has made predicting the results more complicated. Many incumbents are running in races with unfamiliar constituents.
Turnout
Several Virginia counties are providing updates on voter turnout throughout the day.
Here are the latest figures:
Loudoun County: As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, approximately 47% of registered voters had turned out to vote or mailed in their ballots, with 109 out of 111 precincts reporting.
Fairfax County: Based on votes counted at polling places throughout Fairfax County, an estimated 26% of registered voters turned out on Election Day, according to the county’s election website. The total turnout, counting early votes and mail-in ballots, was around 49% as of early Wednesday morning.
Prince William County: More than 120,724 people in Prince William County had cast their vote, officials had counted by early Wednesday morning. The Virginia Department of Elections said that means 38% of registered voters had voted by Election Day.
Arlington County: As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, approximately 36% of registered voters in Arlington had voted either on Election Day, early or with mail-in ballots.
