Democrats claimed a one-vote victory Tuesday after a recount in a contested Newport News-area House of Delegates race, a stunning result that would create a 50-50 party split in the House.
Republicans went into last month’s election with a 66-34 majority, but a single voter in the 94th District may have given Democrats the 16th seat they needed to fully erase the GOP majority and potentially usher in a power-sharing agreement.
Heading into the recount, Democrat Shelly Simonds trailed Republican Del. David E. Yancey by just 10 votes. The unofficial results Tuesday afternoon, which still have to be finalized Wednesday by the court overseeing the recount, showed Simonds ahead by one vote.
The 94th District was the closest by far of the four House recounts following the Nov. 7 elections.
Two more recounts are scheduled this week in the Fredericksburg area’s 28th District and the Richmond region’s 68th District.