The GOP is poised to take back control of Virginia’s House of Delegates after completing a sweep of all three statewide offices in yesterday’s general election, most notably the office of Governor, as Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe in a race with national implications in a state that Joe Biden supposedly won by 10 points just last year.
Alongside the offices of Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General, elections were held for all 100 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates on Tuesday, which Democrats controlled by a 55 to 45 seat majority ahead of election day. Now, Republicans appear set to take control of the state’s House by a one-seat margin, as shockwaves continue to come out of Virginia and Democrat power hemorrhages.
GOP House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert declared victory over Democrats in the House of Delegates in a statement released after 1:30 AM and following a tense night of vote counting around the state.
“Virginia voters made a historic statement, delivering a clear rebuke of the failed policies of the last two years and electing Republicans up and down the ballot,” Gilbert said.
To take the House of Delegates, the Virginia GOP picked up seats statewide, including in the City of Petersburg and the suburbs surrounding Richmond. They also further solidified their rural base of support, bouncing two of the state’s few remaining rural Democrats from their House seats.
Divided government returns to #Virginia. In January, we'll have a Republican in the executive mansion; Democrats will hold a 1-seat majority in the State Senate; and Republicans — according to unofficial results — will hold a 1-seat majority in the House of Delegates. pic.twitter.com/afsivkSnvD
— Virginia Public Access Project (@vpapupdates) November 3, 2021
House elections in Virginia are held every two years, though State Senate elections are held just once every four years, and no Senate seats were up for grabs last night.
Democrats currently cling to a one-seat majority in the Senate, though with a new Republican Lt. Governor presiding over the body, the chamber is essentially tied and Virginia has been opened up to the possibility of repealing much of the radical agenda enacted by Democrats there over the last four years as they have enjoyed total control of all branches of government.
Ironically, after labeling American voters who questioned the reported results of the 2020 Presidential Election as domestic terrorists, Terry McAuliffe and the Democrats are now scrambling to contest races around Virginia.