Single vote just created a rare tie in Virginia
NEWPORT NEWS, VA. » The balance of power in Virginia’s legislature turned on a single vote in a recount Tuesday that flipped a seat in the House of Delegates from Republican to Democrat, leaving control of the lower chamber evenly split.
The outcome, which reverberated across Virginia, ends 17 years of GOP control of the House and forces Republicans into a rare episode of power sharing with Democrats that will refashion the political landscape in Richmond.
It was the culmination of last month’s Democratic wave that had already diminished Republican power in purple Virginia.
Democrat Shelly Simonds emerged from the recount as the apparent winner in the 94th House district, seizing the seat from Republican incumbent David Yancey. A threejudge panel still must certify the results, an event scheduled for Wednesday.
Of the 23,215 votes cast in the district on Election Day, Yancey held a tenuous lead of just 10 votes going into Tuesday’s recount.
But five tedious hours later, after painstaking counting overseen by local elections officials and the clerk of court, Yancey’s lead narrowed before it gradually disappeared and then reversed.
The final tally: 11,608 for Simonds to 11,607 for Yancey.
“I knew it was going to be a roller coaster ride and the counts were going to change and votes were going to shift around. but I had faith in the system and final outcome,” said Simonds, who stayed off Twitter to avoid anxiety. “This is part of a huge wave election in Virginia where voters came out in record numbers to force a change in Virginia, and I’m really proud to be part of that change.”
Power sharing in the House of Delegates is an awkward exercise; the last such arrangement was in 1998. Committee chairs have to be negotiated, as does the person who will serve as Speaker. With the parties split 50-50, there is no mechanism to break ties and any legislation short of 51 votes does not advance.
Republicans hold a slight 21-19 edge in the state Senate, but with a Democratic lieutenant governor to break ties, and a Democratic governor with veto power, Republicans may be forced to advance a more bipartisan agenda.
It’s a dramatic shift that caught even top Democrats by surprise. Republicans have controlled the 100-seat House since 2000; even outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a big cheerleader for his party, had thought the Republican edge was insurmountable.
But Democrats fired up by the election of Donald Trump turned out in big numbers on Election Day and ran as candidates in districts that hadn’t seen Democratic challengers in years.
That wave hit a new high mark with Tuesday’s recount.
“I don’t even live in the district but I am so excited, I can’t believe it,” said Susan Mariner, a Democrat who had come over from Virginia Beach just to see the recount.
Even election officials who had spent the day keeping order seemed rattled by the fact that such a momentous race could be settled in such dramatic fashion.
The old adage about how every vote counts is true, said Newport News Electoral Board Chairman Sean Devlin as he announced the official result. “Please make sure to stress that,” he said to the gathered reporters.