It's looking like Virginia House District 2 may stay in Democrats' hands. With all precincts reporting, Democrat Candi King leads GOP challenger Heather Mitchell by a thin margin -- less than 300 votes -- in the House District 2 special election.
The election, held Tuesday, was to determine Virginia's House of Delegates seat for the district that includes Prince William and Stafford counties.
The seat was vacated by now-former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, who announced her resignation last month to focus on her run for governor.
King is a former Virginia General Assembly staffer who is now an advocate for children with special needs; her oldest daughter has autism.
"I have experience in the General Assembly, and I wanted to use that experience to serve the community here," King said.
Mitchell, who also ran for the seat in 2019, losing to Carroll Foy, touted experience too, as a former senior aide to former Prince William County Board Chair Corey Stewart. But she lives in Stafford, and thinks that part of the community gets overlooked.
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"I'm involved in the community, and I always have been, and I would love to be the voice so that the entire district is represented, not just a small section," Mitchell said.
Recent campaign finance reports showed King with a heavy advantage over Mitchell.
Results on Virginia's Department of Elections website show, with all 23 precincts counted, King has 51.49% of the vote and Mitchell has 48.4%. Mitchell has not yet made concession call to King as she awaits results of the canvass.
Republicans say they are encouraged by the close House District 2 race.
“The results in a Northern Virginia suburb should send a shudder down the spine of every Virginia Democrat. A district last won with a 61-39 margin has so far come down to just three points, in a race where the Republican was massively outspent nearly 4-1,” said House GOP Leader Del. Todd Gilbert.
A special election was also held Tuesday for the 90th House District, based in Norfolk. Results showed Democrat Angelia Williams Graves with more than 63% of the vote over Republican Sylvia Marie Bryant.
Women will reach a new record number in the Virginia House of Delegates after the winners of the special elections are sworn in. There will be 31, including both Democrats and Republicans.
