Democrats were once again dominant, winning all three statewide races and capturing a stunning 13 seats in the House of Delegates.
A crowd cheers Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spannberger's victory in Richmond.
(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It’s surreal,” winning Virginia House of Delegates candidate Kimberly Pope Adams said as she walked into her raucous victory party Tuesday night. In 2023, the Democrat lost her race for a seat in the Virginia House of Representatives by just 53 votes. On Tuesday evening she won with 53 percent of the votewinning overwhelmingly against Republican incumbent Kim Taylor, with her emphasis on affordability, abortion rights, health care and a fairer distribution of wealth in the 82nd District between its white suburbs and Black Petersburg. (She received a stunning 89 percent of the vote in St. Petersburg.)
Having visited Adams in St. Petersburg, Last week I wrote that Democrats in Virginiawho staged the first major electoral resistance against Donald Trump in 2017 did not show the same energy—although the energy was good—eight years later.
Perhaps I was wrong.
As in 2017, Democrats won all three statewide races. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger won by 15 points, larger than Ralph Northam's margin in that first uprising against Trump. Gazma Hashmi won the race for lieutenant governor comfortably, and against attorney general candidate Jay Jones, who had been written off because of his own creepy violent texts, he went after the women and won by nearly seven points.
But most surprisingly, Democrats gained 13 seats in the House of Delegates, bringing their advantage in the chamber to 64-36. That was nearly the GOP advantage in 2017 until Democrats gained 15 seats, nearly a majority. Another contrast: Kamala Harris won 59 of the 100 delegate districts; Democrats won 64 on Tuesday night.
“It was a truly epic victory—really on par with Virginia 2017,” said Carolyn Fiddler, a political insider for the Virginia Democratic Party. The violinist was my guide until 2017, when she said the “Trump effect” had led to an unprecedented number of women running – as I translated it: “If the damn club can become president, I can run for office.”
Current number
“This is the largest Democratic majority in 40 years,” Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams said Wednesday morning. “And we have seen a shift toward democracy in almost every community.” In fact, every county voted more Democratic than in 2024, even red ones. The Democrats' unprecedented nomination of candidates in all 100 districts (Republicans fielded only 84, leaving 16 Democratic incumbents completely safe) certainly helped the movement. “Certainly it was a factor,” says Dr. Fergie Reed Jr., whose progressive group 90 for 90 recruited challengers in the reddest districts (which, it should be said, the Virginia Democratic Party was reluctant to do for fear of wasting resources).
Other Democratic women, along with Adams, have won rematches from 2023 losses: Jessica Anderson in the Williamsburg area, Lindsay Dougherty in Chesterfield and Lily Franklin in Roanoke and Blacksburg counties. Elizabeth Guzman, who won in 2017, lost her Prince William County seat after 2023 redistricting but regained it Tuesday night. (You can find more great Democratic wins here.)
In some ways, Virginia has become ground zero for Trump's attacks on America. His massive layoffs in the federal sector have disproportionately hit the state, whose suburbs serve as bedroom communities for the federal government. The 36-day shutdown once again undermined Virginia's economy as well as the state's sense of fairness.
Adams, who told me she started running again immediately after her devastating defeat in 2023, thanked her supporters who “refused to give up” in her victory speech Tuesday night.
“This campaign has always been about service: giving a voice to people who too often feel overlooked, and making sure every corner of the 82nd District, from Petersburg to the back roads of Dinwiddie, Prince George's and Surry counties, knows that their voices matter and that someone is fighting for them.” She said. “Together we have proven that hope is stronger than cynicism and that when we stand up for each other, we can make real change.”
Adams “was a great candidate when she ran before, and I was so excited that she decided to run again,” Fiddler said. “She ran an incredibly smart race, and the incumbent appears to have left voters in Petersburg feeling unheard and poorly represented. If she legislates as well as she campaigns, she will have a long career in the Virginia Legislature, and that's a very good thing for the district, for Democrats and for the state House of Representatives.”
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“Kimberly didn't just flip a Republican seat. She turned it into a working-class seat,” says Mid-Atlantic Working Families Party leader Vidal Hines, whose group endorsed her. Adams will be “a fearless voice for working families both within the Democratic Caucus and in the House of Delegates.”
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin who sparked the first waves of outrage against Biden in Richmond in 2021deliriously stated, “I believe the people of Virginia are fully supportive of what we are doing.” Oh Glenn, grab your wool and go back to the Carlyle Group. Remember when you were mentioned as a Republican presidential candidate in 2024? Good luck in 2028!
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