Virginia Viewpoint: 2026 Midterm Election Recap

Virginia’s off-year elections have a habit of previewing the national mood, and Tuesday’s midterms followed suit.

Entering Election Day, Republicans held a slight advantage in the U.S. Senate 53-45-2 and the House 218-214-1. By Wednesday, Democrats had flipped at least seven Senate seats, including significant victories in Texas, Ohio, and South Carolina, and have officially gained control of both chambers of Congress.

Virginia was part of the wave. Senator Mark Warner (D) won reelection by roughly 22 points, while Democrats flipped the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts to grow its delegation to an 8-3 advantage. Meanwhile, voters approved all three constitutional amendments on the ballot.

While the results do not change the makeup of the Virginia General Assembly, they do set the backdrop for a short session that will be followed next November by elections for all 140 legislative seats.

Below is a rundown of the election results and what they mean for Virginia.

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Virginia’s Congressional Delegation

Sen. Mark Warner (D) defeated Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa, 61.06%–38.67%, a margin of nearly 800,000 votes, according to VPAP. The AP called the race as polls closed at 7 pm. Warner, who has said this will be his final term, returns to the Senate as part of the new Democratic majority.

Democrats also grew Virginia’s House delegation from a 6-5 to 8-3 advantage:

• 1st District: Shannon Taylor (D) unseated longtime incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman (R), 51.04%–48.72%, a margin of about 9,500 votes.
• 2nd District: Former Rep. Elaine Luria (D) defeated Rep. Jen Kiggans (R), 53.06%–44.56%, reversing the outcome of their 2022 race.
• 5th District: Rep. John McGuire (R) held off former Rep. Tom Perriello (D), 50.19%–48.01%, a margin of about 8,100 votes. Republicans carried the district with 57% of the vote in 2022 and 2024.
• Other incumbents: Reps. Bobby Scott, Jennifer McClellan, Eugene Vindman, Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam, and James Walkinshaw (D), and Reps. Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith (R), all won reelection.

Constitutional Amendments Approved

All three amendments the General Assembly sent to the ballot passed comfortably:

• Reproductive freedom (Question 1): Approved with 62.39% of the vote. It establishes a fundamental right to reproductive freedom and allows restrictions in the third trimester, with exceptions for the patient’s health and nonviable pregnancies.
• Marriage equality (Question 2): Approved with 57.38%. It removes the 2006 ban on same-sex marriage and requires all lawful marriages to be treated equally regardless of sex, gender, or race.
• Voting rights restoration (Question 3): Approved with 56.47%. It automatically restores voting rights to people convicted of felonies upon release from incarceration.

School Construction Sales Tax Referendums

Voters in more than 40 localities across the Commonwealth decided whether to add a 1% local sales tax for school construction and major renovations. The 2026 budget opened that option to localities statewide, which had previously been limited to nine localities.

Results have been mixed. According to VPAP, 15 of the 40 localities have approved the measure. Full results from each locality can be viewed here.

Was 2025 a Preview?

Virginia’s off-year elections have a track record as an early read on the national political climate, and last November’s results seemed to foreshadow Tuesday’s results.

In 2025, Governor Spanberger (D) won by more than 15 points, well beyond pre-election polling, and Democrats won all three statewide offices. Meanwhile, Democrats flipped 13 seats in the House of Delegates to reach a 64-36 majority.

Results at the congressional district level also point to the blue trend. For example, Jen Kiggans (R) won the 2nd District by about 4 points in 2024; Spanberger then carried it by about 8 points in 2025. Luria (D) then won it Tuesday by roughly 8.5 points.

The pattern echoes President Trump’s first term. Democrats gained 15 House of Delegates seats in 2017, and the following year flipped three Virginia congressional seats (the 2nd, 7th, and 10th) on the way to retaking the U.S. House.

National Snapshot

Democrats flipped Republican-held Senate seats in Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Maine, Iowa, and Kansas, putting them at 54 seats (as of 10 PM on November 4).

• Texas: State Rep. James Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton, the first Democratic U.S. Senate win in Texas since 1988. Gina Hinojosa unseated Gov. Greg Abbott, and Democrats swept the statewide executive offices, including lieutenant governor.
• South Carolina: Pediatrician Annie Andrews defeated Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Trump carried the state by more than 17 points in 2024; NBC estimates the race shifted about 22 points toward Democrats.
• Other notable flips: Former Gov. Roy Cooper (North Carolina) and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) won Senate seats, and Troy Jackson ousted Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history.

News coverage and exit polling point to inflation, gas prices, the war with Iran, and broad dissatisfaction with President Trump’s first two years in office as the main drivers for the blue wave. Vice President Vance attributed Republican losses to the Iran war, while President Trump noted he was not on the ballot while acknowledging the election results.

Historical Context

Midterms are reliably hard on the president’s party. Since World War II, it has lost House seats in all but two midterms (1998 and 2002). When the president’s approval is below 50%, Gallup finds the average loss rises to an average of 37 seats. The Senate is usually less predictable, because only a third of seats are up and the map plays a larger role.

Even against that backdrop, the scale of Democratic gains is hard to overstate, particularly in the South. In a single night, Democrats swept statewide races in Texas, won its first U.S. Senate race in South Carolina in nearly three decades, and secured the gubernatorial election in Georgia, all in states President Trump carried comfortably two years ago.

Looking Ahead: 2027 Session of the Virginia General Assembly

Apart from a special election in the 20th House District, where Democrat Sonia Vasquez Luna held the seat vacated by Del. Michelle Maldonado, no seats in the Virginia General Assembly were on Tuesday’s ballot. The balance of power in Richmond is unchanged, though Democrats are likely to feel invigorated from the election results heading into the 2027 legislative session.

Governor Spanberger will introduce her proposed amendments to the biennial budget in December, and the 2027 Regular Session convenes January 13, 2027, for a 46-day “short” session.

Soon after the legislative session adjourns, the election cycle will be in full force yet again. All 140 seats in the General Assembly — 100 in the House and 40 in the Senate — will be on the ballot next November.

Further Reading

All 2026 Virginia election results By Cardinal News Staff

A Democratic wave and more takeaways from the US midterm elections By Tim Reid and Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Election Live: Luria and Taylor declare victory, McGuire leads narrowly in the 5th By Dwayne Yancey, Cardinal News

Live updates: Democrats ride blue wave to full control of Congress By NBC Staff, NBC4 Washington

Virginia voters etch reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and voting restoration into constitution</strong> By Hugh Lessig, Cardinal News

Radford, Lexington, Buena Vista among localities approving sales tax increase for school funding By Meghan Mangrum, Cardinal News

Vasquez Luna wins special election in House District 20 Staff Report, Prince William Times

Democrat Annie Andrews defeats GOP Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina By Rob Wile, NBC News

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