NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) – Control of the Virginia state House is still up for grabs as Republicans appear to have lost a 16-seat majority in one of the most agonizing ways possible – with a single vote defeat in a dramatic recount election.
A Democratic challenger is set to score a one-vote victory Wednesday barring any last minute challenges or hick-ups with the certification process. The victory means a rare power-sharing agreement may have to be brokered between Democrats and Republicans.
Shelly Simonds beat three-term incumbent Republican Del. David Yancey in the 94th District in Newport News, 11,608 to 11,607, in an hourslong recount Tuesday that ended only after the precinct ballots were exhausted and provisional ballots were examined.
Election officials in Newport News, Va., examine ballots that a computer failed to scan during a recount for a House of Delegates race on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Republican incumbent Del. David Yancey had won against Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds by just 10 votes in November. (AP Photo/Ben Finley)
The recounted votes still must be certified by a court Wednesday.
Workers start to remove boxes from a storage room to recount the ballots during the Newport News 94th district recount Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 at City Center in Newport News, Va. Officials will use a high-speed machine on to recount results from the 94th District House of Delegates race, which incumbent Republican Del. David Yancey won by 10 votes. Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds requested the recount.(Joe Fudge/The Daily Press via AP)
Officials will use a high-speed machine on to recount results from the 94th District House of Delegates race at City Center in Newport News, Va. on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Incumbent Republican Del. David Yancey won by 10 votes. Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds requested the recount.(Joe Fudge/The Daily Press via AP)
Democrat Shelly Simonds reacts to the news that she won the 94th District precincts by one vote after previously trailing incumbent David Yancey by ten votes post-election, following a recount Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, in Hampton, Va. (Joe Fudge/The Daily Press via AP)
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