WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia voters will start the new year Tuesday by filling vacancies in the Senate and House of Representatives in a trio of special elections that could determine control of the closely divided chambers.
In suburban Loudoun County, Washington, the November election of Sen. Suhas Subramanyam to Congress prompted a special election for his seat in Senate District 32 and in State House District 26, where the Democratic incumbent resigned after winning the election won. appointment to fill the vacancy in the Senate.
The nominees to replace Subramanyam are Democratic state Del. Kannan Srinivasan and Republican Tumay Harding. Democrat JJ Singh and Republican Ram Venkatachalam will replace Srinivasan in the House of Representatives.
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In Senate District 10, west of Richmond, voters will choose a replacement for Republican Sen. John McGuire, who was elected to Congress. In August, McGuire defeated U.S. Representative Bob Goode in the Republican primary in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. The nominees are Republican Luther Cifers and Democrat Jack Trammell.
Loudoun County’s Senate and House of Representatives seats are both reliably Democratic. Former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe carried the overlapping districts with more than 60% of the vote in his failed 2021 re-election bid. In the presidential election, President Joe Biden carried Loudoun County with about 62% of the vote in 2020, while Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 received approximately 57% of the votes. Meanwhile, voters in Senate District 10 favored Republicans Donald Trump and Gov. Glenn Youngkin in previous elections. McGuire ran unopposed for this seat in 2023.
The Democrats have a small majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Assuming Republicans hold McGuire’s Senate seat, Democratic losses in both Loudoun County seats could hand control of the Senate to Republicans or force a power-sharing deal in the House of Representatives, where Democrats had regained control after the 2023 elections.
The AP does not make forecasts and will only declare a winner if it has been established that there is no scenario with which the underlying candidates can close the gap. If no race is called, the AP will continue to report on any newsworthy developments, such as concessions to candidates or declarations of victory. The AP will make it clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Here’s what to expect on Tuesday:
Special election day
Virginia’s special legislative elections will be held on Tuesday. Polls close at 7:00 PM ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The Associated Press will report voting results and declare winners in three contests in Senate Districts 10 and 32 and state House District 26.
Who can vote?
Voters registered in state Senate Districts 10 and 32 and state House District 26 can participate in the special election in their district.
What does the turnout usually look like?
In November, there were about 177,000 registered voters in Senate District 10, 155,000 in Senate District 32 and 58,000 in House District 26. Virginia voters do not register by party.
In the last legislative election in 2023, turnout was 38% of registered voters in Senate District 10, 42% in Senate District 32 and 40% in House District 26.
How long does it usually take to count votes?
In the 2024 presidential election, the AP first reported results at 7:11 p.m. ET, or 11 minutes after polls closed. Election night tabulation ended at 3:56 a.m. ET with approximately 95% of the total votes counted.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there are 301 days until Virginia’s general election for governor and state House of Representatives.
