The outcome is a sharp loss for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who exerted a great deal of energy, money and political capital on an effort to secure a GOP trifecta.
With a full statehouse majority, Democrats will have even greater leeway to thwart Youngkin’s policy agenda, though they will have to work with him to advance their own. The results could comfort the national party as President Joe Biden and other Democrats are expected to prioritize abortion rights in next year’s campaign to energize their voters.
Youngkin, who predicted hours before the polls closed that Republicans would hold the House and flip the Senate, was asked how he would work with Democrats if his party fell short. “We had hoped for a stronger outcome this evening but are proud of the effort all of our candidates put in to these extremely competitive districts,” Rexrode wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In the House, military veteran Michael Feggans won a key victory for Democrats, ousting incumbent Karen Greenhalgh in Virginia Beach. Joshua Cole defeated Republican Lee Peters in another competitive House matchup.