Virginia's senate will remain blue. Another bell weather example for 2024.
Voters a polling station in Falls Church, Virginia, on 7 November. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Virginia
Virginia Democrats appear on track to keep majority in state senate
House of delegates still too close to call as Republican governor Glenn Youngkin’s goal of full control of legislature slips away
Joan E Greve
@joanegreve
Tue 7 Nov 2023 19.19 EST
Virginia
Democrats appeared to be on track to retain their majority in the state senate on Tuesday, depriving Republican governor Glenn Youngkin of a legislative trifecta that would have allowed him to swiftly enact his policy agenda.
Two hours after polls closed in Virginia, where all 140 seats of the state legislature were up for grabs, the house of delegates remained too close to call. Virginia
Republicans still hoped to keep their majority in the lower chamber, even as their goal of taking full control of the legislature slipped away.
As one of the only states holding off-year elections, the
Virginia results could serve as a bellwether for the presidential race next year. Democrats also secured key victories on Tuesday in Kentucky, where incumbent governor Andy Beshear won re-election, and Ohio, where voters approved a measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.