Voting begins in Virginia special elections to decide control of General Assembly

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify the investment of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) in Virginia. 

Narrow majorities in the Virginia House and Senate raise the stakes of a trio of special elections where turnout will be key.

Early voting has begun in Northern Virginia’s special elections for vacant seats in the state House and Senate and is set to begin this month for a vacant central Virginia Senate seat. 

Virginia’s three special elections on Jan. 7 were triggered by two Virginia state senators – Democrat Suhas Subramanyam and Republican John McGuire – getting elected to Congress last month. 

In Virginia Senate District 32 in Loudoun County, Democratic state Del. Kannan Srinivasan is up against Republican Tumay Harding to fill the seat vacated by Subramanyam’s election. 

Srinivasan’s entry into the race for the Senate seat created a vacancy for his House seat representing House District 26 in Loudoun County. Democrat JJ Singh and Republican Ram Venkatachalam are competing in the special election to succeed Srinivasan. 

Srinivasan and Singh appeared with reproductive rights advocates in Ashburn on Dec. 11 to emphasize the high stakes of their candidacies. Srinivasan told The Dogwood the special elections are critical to ensuring Democrats can advance three constitutional amendments on reproductive rights, voting rights, and marriage equality. 

 

 

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“Those are extremely important issues,” Srinivasan said, adding Democrats’ thin majorities in the House and Senate have raised the stakes of the special elections. 

Democrats had a 21-19 advantage over Republicans in the Senate before Subramanyam’s seat opened up. If Republicans are able to take Subramanyam’s Senate seat and create a 20-20 tie in that chamber, it would give them an advantage because Virginia’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears gets the tie-breaking vote in that chamber. 

Singh told The Dogwood that in addition to defending reproductive rights, he supports stronger gun safety laws and addressing the high cost of higher education. 

“Gun violence is the number one cause of death for kids,” Singh said. “And college tuition costs have skyrocketed.” 

Loudoun County is a reliably blue district, and Loudoun backed Kamala Harris by 16 points over Donald Trump in the recent presidential election. But factors like election fatigue, traditionally low turnout in special elections, and the overlap of voting with the holidays creates an added element of uncertainty. 

The national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is putting a spotlight on the campaigns of Srinivasan and Singh as “must-win races” to help Democrats fight back on conservative policy goals. The DLCC said on Dec. 16 it was spending $100,000 in Virginia to help the state’s Democratic House and Senate caucuses in the special elections and November elections. 

Early voting in the Loudoun races began on Dec. 11 and goes until Jan. 4. Election Day is Jan. 7, the day before the start of Virginia’s next General Assembly session that runs until Feb. 22. 

All 100 House of Delegates seats are up for election in 2025. 

Central Virginia Senate race

In the special election to replace Republican John McGuire, early voting begins Dec. 27 and runs until Jan. 4. 

The later start to early voting for Senate District 10 comes after McGuire’s delay in submitting his Senate resignation letter, which is required before a special election can be called. 

Senate District 10 includes all of Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Goochland, and Powhatan counties and part of Hanover, Henrico, Louisa, and Prince Edward counties. It is a reliably conservative district where Democrats face an uphill climb. 

The candidates in the special election for Senate District 10 are Democrat Jack Trammel and Republican Luther Cifers.