Democrats pick up 13 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates

In one of the first statewide races since the 2024 presidential election, the Democratic Party has increased a majority in the House of Delegates by 13 seats. Before the November 4 election, the party had 51 seats to 48 for Republicans with one vacant seat that was filled Tuesday.

“Tonight we shocked the world, we sent a message of love and hope over fear and cruelty,” said Speaker of the House Don Scott at a crowd assembled for Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s victory. “That is the message that the Commonwealth of Virginia sent, not only to the nation, but to the entire world.”

Subscribe to the Virginia Political Newsletter for that quote and more coverage of the election.

Democrats challenged all 100 districts this year and 12 challengers defeated 12 incumbents according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. There were no undecided races and Democrats are on track to have a majority of 64 seats when the votes are made officials.

• In House District 22 in Prince William County, Democrat Elizabeth Guzman defeated Republican Ian Lovejoy with 54.55 percent of the vote. Guzman is a former Delegate who had two unsuccessful primary bids for Virginia Senate and the U.S. House.
• In House District 30 in Northern Virginia, Democrat John Chilton McAuliff narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Geary Higgins 50.66 percent to 49.18 percent. Higgins is a former member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors elected to the House in 2023.
• In House District 41 in Blacksburg, Democrat Lily Franklin defeated Republican Chris Obenshain 51.17 percent to 48.71 percent. This was a rematch of the 2023 race when Obenhain won with 50.31 percent of the vote.
• In House District 57 in Henrico County, Democrat May Nivar defeated Republican David Owen 57.2 percent to 42.8 percent. Owen won election in 2023 with 50.77 percent of the vote.
• In House District 64 in Stafford County, Democrat Stacy Annie Carroll defeated Republican Paul Milde with 52.77 percent of the vote. Milde is a former member of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors elected to the House of Delegates in 2023 with 54.32 percent of the vote.
• In House District 66 in Spotsylvania and Caroline counties, Democrat Nicole Cole unseated Republican Bobby Orrock with 52.15 percent of the vote. Orrock was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1997.
• In House District 69, Democrat Mark Downey defeated Republican Chad Green with 49.61 percent of the vote. An independent was also in the race and got 3.55 percent. Green is a former member of the York County Board of Supervisors elected to the House of Delegates in 2023 when he ran unopposed.
• In House District 71 in James City County and Williamsburg, Democrat Jessica Anderson defeated Republican Amanda Batten with 52.68 percent of the vote. Batten was first elected in 2019 in a race against Mark Downey and there was a rematch between the pair in 2021. In 2023, Batten received 50.9 percent of the vote in a race against Anderson.
• In House District 73 in western Chesterfield County, Democrat Leslie Mehta defeated Republican Mark Earley Jr. with 51.54 percent of the vote. Earley was elected in 2023 with 54.41 percent of the vote.
• In House District 75 in Chesterfield and Hopewell, Democrat Lindsey Dougherty defeated Republican Carrie Coyner with 52.7 percent of the vote. Coyner was first elected in 2019 and had 52.76 percent of the vote in 2023.
• In House District 82 in Petersburg and Dinwiddie County, Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams won with 53.64 percent of the vote against Republican Kim Taylor. This is a rematch of a race in 2023 when Adams won a 78-vote margin. Adams unseated a Democratic incumbent in 2021 with 50.7 percent of the vote.
• In House District 86 in the Hampton Roads area, Democrat Virgil Gene Thornton Sr. defeated A.C. Cordoza with 53.39 percent of the vote. Cordoza was first elected to the House in 2021 when he received 49.36 percent of the vote.

The 13th pick-up by the Democrats was in an open seat in House District 89. Democrat Karen Robbins Carnegie defeated Republican Mike Lemonea with 54.23 percent of the vote.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Democrats picked up all the seats they regarded as “Competitive” and six of 14 seats regarded as “Leans Republican.” They did not pick up any of the 28 seats regarded as “Strong Republican.”

A portion of Greene County is within House District 62 and was an open seat when Delegate Nick Frietas declined to seek another term. Republican Karen Hamilton kept the seat for her party with 58.67 percent of the vote against Democrat Sara Ratcliffe.

A portion of Louisa County is within House District 59. Republican incumbent Buddy Fowler Jr. won election to another term with 54.82 percent of the vote. Fowler was first elected in 2013.

A portion of Fluvanna County is within House District 56. Republican incumbent Tom Garrett Jr. won election with 60.96 percent against Democrat Angela Chainer.

A portion of Nelson County is within House District 53. Republican incumbent Tim Griffin defeated Republican Sam Soghor with 69.52 percent of the vote.

That vacancy mentioned at the top? That’s in House District 33 which was held by Todd Gilbert until his resignation for a brief stint as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

Republicans held on to the seat with the victory of Justin Pence with 73.64 percent of the vote over Democrat Catherine Elizabeth Rec.

Before you go: Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the November 5, 2025 edition edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.  You can either subscribe through Substack, make a monthly contribution through Patreon, or consider becoming a sponsor. The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what’s happening in local, regional, state, and federal government. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things