Overview and Live Results: Virginia General Assembly Special Elections

The first Tuesday of 2025 brings us the year's first special elections. Three vacancies in the Virginia General Assembly will be filled. 

Both chambers are so closely divided that these elections could upend the balance of power. However, these are not taking place in highly competitive districts, so the status quo is the most likely result.

Nonetheless, as the first elections since Donald Trump won the presidency and Republicans took full control of Congress, the outcomes will be closely watched.

As the New York Times reports, "...even if there are no upsets, the margins of the races will provide the first hints of voter attitudes as Mr. Trump prepares to take office for a second time. The two seats where Democrats are favored are both in Loudoun County, a Washington suburb that shifted hard toward the party during the first Trump presidency before tilting back toward the former president in November."  

CNN makes some of the same points, and goes on to say that "the question will be whether either party overperforms, providing an early test of enthusiasm for each ahead of this year’s Virginia gubernatorial race and next year’s midterm elections."

Polls close at 7:00 PM Eastern.

Virginia State Senate

Democrats hold a narrow 20-18 edge in the Virginia State Senate. Members serve four-year terms; the next regular elections are in 2027.

There are two vacancies that will be filled Tuesday; each party held one of the seats. Both prior incumbents resigned last week and are now freshman members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

While not expected, should Republicans win both races, they will gain control as Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) can cast tie-breaking votes.

District 10

This Richmond area district was vacated by Republican John McGuire, who won election to the 5th congressional district in November. McGuire got to the general election by ousting incumbent Rep. Bob Good in the GOP primary held last June. 

McGuire was unopposed on the District 10 ballot in 2023. 

Republican Luther Cifers and Democrat Jack Trammel are the nominees.

District 32

This Washington, D.C. area district was previously held by Democrat Suhas Subramanyam, who won election to the 10th congressional district in November. Subramanyam succeeds fellow Democrat Jennifer Weston, who did not seek reelection.

In 2023, Subramanyam won District 32 by a 61% to 39% margin.

Kannan Srinivasan (D) and Tumay Harding (R) are the nominees. Srinivasan is giving up his seat in the House of Delegates to run; the results for that special election are in the next section.

Virginia House of Delegates

Democrats regained control of the closely-divided House of Delegates in the 2023 election. The party holds a 50-49 advantage, excluding District 26. Members serve two-year terms; the next regular elections are in November.

District 26

This suburban D.C. district somewhat overlaps the vacant Senate District 32. The incumbent, Del. Kannan Srinivasan is the Democratic nominee for that seat. His resignation is effective Tuesday, the same day as the election.

Srinivasan won by a 61% to 39% margin in 2023.

Democrats have nominated JJ Singh; Ram Venkatachalam is the Republican nominee. While not the most likely outcome, a Venkatachalam win would tie the chamber at 50-50 and require some sort of power-sharing agreement between the parties.

Upcoming Special Elections

• January 14
  • Minnesota State Senate District 60 (Primary)
• January 21
  • South Carolina State House District 113 (Primary)
    • Runoff (if needed) February 4; General Election March 25
• January 28
  • Florida Congressional Districts 1 and 6 (Primaries)
  • Iowa State Senate District 35
  • Minnesota State Senate District 60
  • Minnesota State House District 40B
• February 15
  • Louisiana State Senate Districts 14 and 23 (Primaries)
    • General Election (if needed) March 29
• February 25
  • California State Senate District 36 and State Assembly District 32 (Primaries)
    • General Election (if needed) April 29
  • Maine State House District 24
• March 4
  • Oklahoma State Senate District 8 (Primary)
    • Runoff (if needed) April 1; General Election May 13
• March 11
  • Alabama State Senate District 5 (Primary)
    • Runoff (if needed) April 8; General Election June 24
• April 1
  • Florida Congressional Districts 1 and 6