Tuesday was a good night for Virginia Democrats, and it only got better as Wednesday approached. Not only did all three Democrat candidates win their statewide races, but the party widely expanded their majority in the House of Delegates.

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger was declared the winner early on, as was Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi. Although it took longer for the attorney general’s race to be called, Republican incumbent Jason Miyares was ultimately defeated by Democrat Jay Jones. This came despite a scandal plaguing Jones regarding text messages where he wished the young children of his political opponent would die in their mother’s arms. Jones wasn’t the only one who likely rode Spanberger’s coattails, though.

At 11:42 p.m. Tuesday night, the Associated Press projected that “Democrats retain control of Virginia House of Delegates.” They did more than merely “retain,” though.

The makeup will be 64 seats for Democrats in the House of Delegates, with 36 Republican seats, Axios reports, based on unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections, meaning Democrats flipped 13 Republican seats. The makeup had been 51-48 favoring the Democrats.

Andrew Loposser, partner and founder of the Virginia-based Assembly Strategies, spoke to The Daily Signal about what the results mean for the future, and how it was reminiscent of past elections.

“It felt like 2017 all over again, only worse. I’m disappointed in the results, but not surprised,” Loposser said Wednesday. “I’m not sure last night could have been avoided, but when leadership ignores data on where to invest, it only makes a bad situation worse. Next year’s spending decisions must be data-driven and strategically targeted. 2026 offers a real opportunity, but only if we make smarter strategic choices.”

Democrat plans for redistricting is thus more likely, though Virginia in 2020 voted to create the Virginia Redistricting Commission for drawing legislative maps. Even without Miyares as attorney general, it’s possible the Virginia courts may intervene in any new redistricting effort.

The AP highlighted how there’s “a concentration of federal workers impacted by the government shutdown” in Virginia. Spanberger, according to the AP, “railed against the U.S. government shutdown.” Senate Democrats have voted 14 times against funding the government, yet Spanberger managed to turn the issue against Republicans.

President Donald Trump also cited the shutdown as why Republicans performed so poorly.

The Daily Signal’s Tyler O’Neil listed “Shutting Down the Government” as the top “Winner” of the “8 Winners and Losers of the 2025 Election.” Virginia’s current Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, is listed as a “Loser.”

When Youngkin was elected four years ago, his party also gained back control of the House of Delegates, for a makeup of 52-48 seats, with seven flips in place for Republicans. In 2023, Democrats once more took back control of the chamber.

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