Republicans Take Back Control of Virginia House in Statewide Upset

Virginia Republicans wrestled away control of the Virginia House of Delegates to take away the Democrats’ 55-45 majority held since 2019.

In Tuesday’s close election that saw Republicans sweep all three statewide races, Republicans also won back at least six seats in the Commonwealth’s lower chamber, resulting in a one-person majority for Republicans, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).

Chesterfield reports in-person early vote tally, which was enough to call 4 House races. We project Del. Lashrecse Aird (D-Petersburg) will lose her seat, giving the House GOP +6 and a 1-seat majority in the House of Delegates. https://t.co/KoLDqo0ns0 pic.twitter.com/6m4pgVc3j2

— Virginia Public Access Project (@vpapupdates) November 3, 2021

As Breitbart News reported Monday, there were upward of 20 close House races available for Republicans to take advantage of, many of which were showcased as favorable opportunities.

On a long election night, with the call from VPAP coming just before 1:30 a.m. Eastern, Republicans far outperformed Democrats across the Commonwealth, including in deep blue Northern Virginia, the suburbs of Richmond, and Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads.

Red wave: 58 of 59 localities that have reported all precincts have shifted to the right compared to 2017. Emporia City down on the NC line for now is solo on the blue wave. https://t.co/9ZUqiZNddt pic.twitter.com/KiHkNl8Zm3

— Virginia Public Access Project (@vpapupdates) November 3, 2021

That big red dot? That is Loudoun, which moved 10.0 points to the right compared to 2017. Loudoun details –> https://t.co/Zc9dIxVxCv pic.twitter.com/YtAMDcOd2U

— Virginia Public Access Project (@vpapupdates) November 3, 2021

Loudoun County, this year’s political hotbed in the Commonwealth — featuring parents taking a stand against Critical Race Theory, mask mandates, and gender theory entering their schools — moved ten points in favor of Republicans.

As Breitbart News pointed out, while “Virginia has been trending blue for the past several election cycles, culminating in a massive sweep of the Virginia House of Delegates in 2019 and a ten-point victory for Biden in 2020,” there were many factors that indicated a GOP upset in the House.

Indeed, while Democrats had a more than two-to-one fundraising advantage over Republicans overall in House races, many of the most expensive races — million-dollar for several Democrats — were lost to Republicans who had neither the monetary parity, nor the benefit of incumbency.

Even House District 66, which had been held by a Republican for over 30 years but was redistricted in a 32-point leftward swing, was retained by the new Republican candidate.

With President Joe Biden’s approval rating in the Commonwealth plummeting and contentious education issues serving as the undercurrent for Republican enthusiasm, the control of the Old Dominion’s lower chamber — as well as the governor’s mansion, lieutenant governor’s office, and attorney general — shifted hands to Republicans.

CALL – Democratic incumbent Alex Askew has held HD-85 in Virginia Beach against Republican Karen Greenhalgh and Democrat Kelly Fowler has defeated Republican Tanya Gould in HD-21

FINAL OUTCOME: TIED HOUSE OF DELEGATES. POWER SHARING AGREEMENT. GOP +5https://t.co/oVum81IDLv pic.twitter.com/AB487rlOlf

— Chaz Nuttycombe (@ChazNuttycombe) November 3, 2021

CALL: Republican Tim Anderson has defeated incumbent Democrat Nancy Guy in HD-83. 3rd flip of the night to the GOPhttps://t.co/oVum81IDLv pic.twitter.com/bNQEOzdmXa

— Chaz Nuttycombe (@ChazNuttycombe) November 3, 2021

CALL – Republican Tara Durant has unseated incumbent Democrat Joshua Cole in HD-28 in Stafford.

DEMOCRATS LOSE MAJORITY – 3 SEATS UNCALLEDhttps://t.co/oVum81IDLv pic.twitter.com/Gp9NnMC7bZ

— Chaz Nuttycombe (@ChazNuttycombe) November 3, 2021

CALL – Republican Mike Cherry holds Kirk Cox’s open seat, HD-66, against Democrat Katie Sponsler https://t.co/oVum81IDLv pic.twitter.com/bOgojtRidr

— Chaz Nuttycombe (@ChazNuttycombe) November 3, 2021

CALL: Republican Otto Waschmann has defeated Democrat Roz Tyler [I] in HD-75. First flip of the night to the Republicanshttps://t.co/oVum81IDLv pic.twitter.com/x7eUeTKJRZ

— Chaz Nuttycombe (@ChazNuttycombe) November 3, 2021

CALL: Republican Jason Ballard has defeated Democrat Chris Hurst [I] in HD-12. The second flip of the night to the Republicanshttps://t.co/oVum81IDLv pic.twitter.com/G7WMGhW40N

— Chaz Nuttycombe (@ChazNuttycombe) November 3, 2021

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