Last week, voters elected a state senator from Loudoun to Congress. Now, the special election to fill that seat will determine control of the Virginia state Senate.
The Senate currently has 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans. So, if Republicans are able to beat the odds and flip this blue seat red, they would be able to use the tie-breaking vote of the Republican lieutenant governor to seize the majority. That's why Speaker of the House Don Scott says he's endorsing House freshman Kannan Srinivasan.
"We are not taking this election lightly. We know we need a Democratic majority in the Senate, and that's why we need to elect Kannan," Scott says. "If we lose here, we risk losing the Senate majority and all of the progress that we've worked so hard to make and to preserve and protect."
Former Republican Governor Jim Gilmore says if Republicans are able to seize control of the Senate, Governor Glenn Youngkin would benefit.
"That's important to the governor because in his last year it would be very helpful to have a Republican majority in the Virginia state Senate – not that that's any guarantee as I learned of cooperation," Gilmore says. "But still, it's better than having the opposition party in charge of your legislative agenda."
Low-turnout special elections can be unpredictable. Just last year, Democrats were able to flip a red seat blue in Hampton Roads. Now, Republicans are hoping they'll be able to pull off a similar upset victory in Northern Virginia.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
