How Democrats Flipped the Hell Out of Virginia
Money, maps, and motivation helped Democrats take all three arms of government in the Old Dominion for the first time since 1993
Virginia is a blue state all the way down to its petticoats now.
This is a sentiment any smart political observer would have scoffed at just a decade ago. Two decades ago, you would have gotten laughed out of the room.
But after all those years in the political wilderness, Democrats flipped both the 100-member state House and the 40-member state Senate this week, giving Virginia its first Democratic trifecta (state House, state Senate, governorship) since 1993.
Flipping just two seats in each chamber to win these majorites might have looked simple enough on paper. And just a one-seat gain in each chamber would have effectively ended the GOP’s majorities and handed Democrats effective control of the state Senate, given the Democratic lieutenant governor’s tiebreaker role. But with no one to break ties in the House of Delegates, Republicans would have lost power without Democrats being able to assert real authority.
So Democrats needed to pick up two seats in each chamber to win real power in this election. Again, that may not sound like a lot — but a…
