Democrats hold Virginia state House seat in closely watched special election

Democrat JJ Singh has defeated Republican Ram Venkatachalam in the special election for the Virginia state House's 26th District, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The seat was formerly held by Del. Kannan Srinivasan (D), who ran in the special election for the state Senate's 32nd District. 

Singh’s win was widely expected given the blue lean of the district, which is located in Loudoun County, outside of Washington, D.C. 

However, there were some potential warning signs for Democrats coming out of the 2024 presidential election. While Vice President Harris handily won Loudoun County, she underperformed President Biden’s margins in 2020. 

President Biden won the county by 26 points in 2020 while Harris won it by 16 points. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) won the county by 11 points in his unsuccessful second bid for governor against Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) in 2021, which saw lower turnout in a nonpresidential year.

Democrats said going into the election they were not taking any chances. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced last month it was investing $100,000 into Virginia’s legislative caucuses ahead of next month’s special elections.