Republican claims dramatic Virginia bowl victory
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Republicans cheered Thursday when their candidate won a state House of Delegates race by luck of the draw, having his name chosen first out of a bowl.
Republican David Yancey skipped the drawing, which took place inside a conference room in Richmond’s Capital Square. Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds and many of her supporters absorbed the result in stunned silence.
The drawing of lots took place after an election, recount and legal battles between Yancey and Simonds ended in a tie. Yancey’s win allows Republicans to maintain a slim majority in the House, though a final tally is still uncertain.
The drawing drew a large, if lopsided, crowd to the Virginia elections board meeting. Many were reporters or Simonds supporters.
Simonds sat stoically as the commission ran through the ceremony. The name of each candidate, printed on a piece of paper, was placed into separate film canisters. The canisters were put into a cobalt-blueand-white ceramic bowl made by a local artist and stirred.
Board Chairman James Alcorn pulled out one of the canisters and read the name: “David Yancey.”
Simonds stayed still and looked straight ahead. After a few seconds, she looked at her daughter Georgia, 15, and said, “it’s OK.”
“This is a sad conclusion for me,” Simonds said at an impromptu news conference. But she said she still had options, including a recount request.
Yancey’s comments came on social media, where he congratulated Simonds on a “hard fought election.”
Simonds appeared to have lost the November election by 10 votes, but on Dec. 19, she won a recount by a single vote. The next day, a three-judge panel declared a tie based on a previously uncounted vote for Yancey.