Good news in Virginia: Democrats will keep control of both chambers of the Virginia Legislature, after the party won two decisive special election victories Tuesday night.
By winning the special elections, Democrats will not only be able to block Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s right-wing agenda in his final year in office, but also fight back against Donald Trump’s policies.
“Thanks to these victories, the Virginia Senate and House will remain Democratic backstops to fight back against the extremism of Donald Trump and Glenn Youngkin,” outgoing Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison wrote in a post on X.
In the House of delegates, Democrat JJ Singh defeated Republican Ram Venkatachalam to ensure Democrats would maintain their 51-49 majority. Had Singh lost, Democrats would have been forced into a power-sharing agreement with Republicans.
And in the state Senate, former delegate Kannan Srinivasan beat Republican Tumay Harding to maintain Democrats’ 21-19 majority. Had Srinivasan lost, the chamber would have been left with a 20-20 tie, with right-wing lunatic Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears becoming the tie-breaking vote to help pass Youngkin’s agenda.
The special elections marked the first Democratic wins since Donald Trump was elected in November, and were a test as to whether Democratic voters would turn out after the crushing defeat two months ago.
The two Democratic candidates that won wound up slightly overperforming Vice President Kamala Harris’ margins in these districts from November, an encouraging sign for the party.
“As Republicans take full control in Washington, the [Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee] and our allies will continue to take advantage of every opportunity in the states to elect Democrats and build a strong counterweight to the incoming administration,” DLCC President Heather Williams, who works to aid Democrats in state legislative races across the country, said in a statement. “While we celebrate tonight, our focus is already on November, when the Virginia House of Delegates will be on the ballot again. With Trump and his MAGA allies in the states returning to office, building and defending Democratic power in the states is essential.”
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