What Went Down On Election Night 2017

One final note: It’s hard not to conclude the August events in Charlottesville had a galvanizing effect on Democrats in that area. Across the state, raw votes cast were up 16 percent over 2013. But in the city of Charlottesville, raw votes cast were up 31 percent. Northam took 84 percent of the vote there.

We’re about to wrap this live blog, but here’s the current count for the Virginia House of Delegates. There are 100 seats, and Democrats currently hold 48, Republicans 47. Here are the five outstanding races that will determine control — and may be in recount territory:

• House District 27 (Chesterfield County): Del. Roxann Robinson (R) is up by 129 votes.
• House District 28 (Fredericksburg): Bob Thomas (R) is up by 86 votes.
• House District 40 (Fairfax): Donte Tanner (D) is up by 68 votes.
• House District 68 (Richmond): Dawn Adams (D) up by 316 votes.
• House District 94 (Newport News): Del. David Yancey (R) up by 12 votes.

If every one of these races breaks to the current leader, Virginia would have a 50-50 House of Delegates come January.

It’s hard to overstate what a terrible night this was for Republicans in Northern Virginia, but just to drive the point home, they may no longer hold a single delegate seat in Fairfax County after tonight. GOP Del. Tim Hugo, who was thought to be a strong favorite owing to his retail strength in southern Fairfax, is currently trailing Democrat Donte Tanner by 68 votes.