Virginia Democrats keep control of Statehouse in first elections after Trump win

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Democrats preserved their Statehouse majority on Tuesday in the first test of voters’ energy since President-elect Donald Trump’s win in November, which left many party members across the country reckoning with their losses in federal elections.

Tuesday’s races were the first official elections in Virginia since November’s presidential contest. Democrats now have a narrow 21-19 edge in the state Senate and a 51-49 lead in the House of Delegates, preserving their majorities in both chambers during Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s last year in office.

The results could limit Youngkin’s conservative agenda for the state, requiring the governor to gain bipartisan support for his legislative vision. Democrats’ wins also give the party a small boost days before Trump is set to take office after a decisive victory that included sweeping the swing states and leaving many liberals demoralized.

In northern Loudoun County, Democrat Kannan Srinivasan defeated Republican Tumay Harding in the race to succeed Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat elected to the U.S. House in November. In an overlapping House of Delegates district, Democrat JJ Singh bested Republican Ram Venkatachalam in an election to replace Srinivasan, who vacated his House of Delegates seat after becoming a nominee for the special Senate election.

“Today, voters in Loudoun County once again rejected Republican extremism by electing Kannan Srinivasan and JJ Singh,” Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Susan Swecker said in a statement. “Their victories ensure that we maintain our majority in the General Assembly so we can continue passing legislation that benefits all Virginians while rejecting harmful policies.”

In central Goochland County, Republican Luther Cifers defeated Democrat Jack Trammell in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. John McGuire. McGuire clinched Virginia’s 5th Congressional District after narrowly defeating former U.S. Rep. Bob Good by less than a percentage point in a bitter primary, which led to a recount last August.

“A lot of people believed in me and decided to trust me with this responsibility,” Cifers said in a statement following his victory. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that their trust is well placed.”

Srinivasan, the first Indian American immigrant elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, and Singh, a Virginia native and son of Indian immigrants, hoped to hold the Democratic seats in a county where data shows that Vice President Kamala Harris received 57% of the vote in her failed bid against Trump. Both Singh and Srinivasan had largely centered their campaigns around abortion rights in Virginia as Democrats are working to enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in the state.

“Tonight, we have shown that when we stand together and fight for the issues we care about we win,” Srinivasan said in a statement, adding: “I will always advocate for a woman’s right to control her own (body.)”

In an acceptance statement, Singh said: “In Richmond, I will take on the toughest fights. I ran in this race because my two daughters have fewer rights than my wife did.”

Harding, the daughter of Turkish Uzbek immigrants, and Venkatachalam, an Indian American immigrant, vied to flip the Senate and House seats from Democrats. Both candidates, who each unsuccessfully ran for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in 2023, centered their state campaigns along party lines, such as parents’ rights, crime and the economy.

“While this is not the result we had worked for and hoped for, I want to thank everyone who put their blood, sweat, and tears into this race, and know that I am not done working for our community and our kids,” Harding said in a statement.

In the 10th District, conservatives put their weight behind Cifers to succeed McGuire following a lengthy, multi-ballot primary among Republican voters last month. Cifers, a Prince Edward County resident and president of a Virginia-based kayaking business, said he never envisioned himself running for office but wanted to bring a different perspective to the legislature, particularly regarding housing and the economy.

Trammell, who unsuccessfully ran for the 7th U.S. House District in 2014, hoped to flip the Republican stronghold, which supported Trump by more than 25 points in November, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. Trammell said he partly decided to run for office because he believed his community should have a competitive electoral process.

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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Olivia Diaz, The Associated Press