Democrats were able to flip 13 House of Delegates seats from red to blue.
The Richmond region had five Democratic candidates who ousted Republican incumbents. That's more movement from red to blue than any other part of Virginia. One of those was in Henrico County, where Republican Delegate David Owen was unseated by May Nivar.
"One of the most resounding things that people have expressed to me at the doors is just a return to democracy, standing up to what is coming out of the Trump administration," Nivar says. "People are really looking forward to just a change of direction for the country."
In Williamsburg, Republican Delegate Amanda Batten was unseated by Jessica Anderson. In Petersburg, Republican Delegate Kim Taylor was unseated by Kim Pope-Adams. And in Chesterfield, two incumbents were sent packing: Republican Delegate Mark Earley was unseated by Leslie Mehta and Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner was unseated by Lindsey Dougherty.
"When we start to change or mess with the system that is meant to hold up and support families, more and more people start falling through the cracks," Dougherty says. "And so, I think that with the new incoming freshman class of legislators that will be coming in, we can help reinforce that safety net and make sure that we are catching as many families as possible.”
And the transformation of Richmond is not done yet. Voters will be going to the polls in a special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Ghazala Hashmi.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
