Virginia 2019 Election Results

Virginia held its general election on November 5, 2019, deciding 140 legislative seats. Control shifted: the Senate moved from a 21-19 Republican majority to a 21-19 Democratic majority; the House of Delegates moved from a 51-49 Republican majority to a 55-45 Democratic majority.

Highlights

• Democrats, who already held the governorship, won full control of state government for the first time since 1994. They ran on stricter gun laws, a higher minimum wage, and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. In January, the new House majority made Eileen Filler-Corn its first woman Speaker.
• Democrats flipped two Senate seats. Ghazala Hashmi (D) upset incumbent Glen Sturtevant (R) by about 8 points in Senate District 10, becoming the first Muslim-American woman in the chamber. John Bell (D) won the open Senate District 13 by about 9 points over Geary Higgins (R), the only candidate Trump endorsed by name.
• In the House, court-ordered district lines drawn earlier in 2019 helped Democrats flip the chamber. House Speaker Kirk Cox (R) won his court-redrawn district, House District 66, by about 1,300 votes over Sheila Bynum-Coleman (D), but his party lost the majority. Among the Democratic gains:
  • Clinton Jenkins (D) unseated Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones (R) by about 13 points in House District 76, one of the districts redrawn after courts found the old map crowded Black voters into too few districts.
  • Shelly Simonds (D) beat David Yancey (R) by about 17 points in House District 94, a rematch of their 2017 race, which ended in a tie and went to Yancey on a drawing of lots.
  • Dan Helmer (D) ousted Tim Hugo (R) by about 5 points in House District 40.
  • Nancy Guy (D) held on in a recount against Chris Stolle (R) in House District 83.
• All 8 seats that changed party went from Republicans to Democrats, and 5 Republican incumbents lost. Besides the races above, Democrats also picked up Josh Cole (D) in House District 28, where Del. Robert Thomas (R) had lost his June primary, and Martha Mugler (D) in the open House District 91. Republicans narrowly held 3 seats:
  • Jennifer Kiggans (R) held the open Senate District 7 by about 510 votes over Cheryl Turpin (D).
  • Siobhan Dunnavant (R) kept Senate District 12 by about 1,300 votes over Debra Rodman (D).
  • Roxann Robinson (R) kept House District 27 by about 190 votes over Larry Barnett (D).

Legislature

• House of Delegates (100 seats): 49 D, 51 R before the election, 55 D, 45 R after; control moved from Republicans to Democrats.
• Senate (40 seats): 19 D, 21 R before the election, 21 D, 19 R after; control moved from Republicans to Democrats.

Legislative races