Spanberger saw a path to four House flips. Democrats have won two.

Good morning from The Mercury.

By Markus Schmidt

Just six months ago, Virginia Democrats hoped a new congressional map would help them capture 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House seats. Instead, they went into Tuesday’s midterm election under the existing boundaries and flipped two Republican-held districts, with a possible third pickup still undecided Wednesday afternoon. 

The results fell short of what Democrats had sought through redistricting and landed at the low end of what Gov. Abigail Spanberger had suggested was possible even without new maps. In August, she told WTOP that strong turnout could help Democrats flip the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th districts. 

By Nathaniel Cline

On Election Day, out of 47 Virginia localities, about 30% authorized their governments to collect a 1% sales tax to address rising school construction costs, while about 70% did not. 

In June, state lawmakers authorized localities, pending voter support, to raise revenue for school construction and modernization with a 1% sales tax. The state estimates over 1000 school buildings are more than 50 years old, and would take $25 billion to rebuild or improve. 

By Shannon Heckt

Public hearings in the case to decide the fate of the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra Energy begin this week at the State Corporation Commission. The $67 billion all-stock deal would create the largest regulated utility in the world. 

In the months preceding the hearings, scores of lawmakers, consumer advocates and citizens have strongly opposed the proposal, with leaders at the top level of state government pushing for more time to review the case.

By Kelcie Moseley-Morris

Nationwide results for abortion ballot initiatives on Tuesday night largely favored protecting access to abortion and other reproductive care, with the exception of Idaho, where a measure that would have restored access to abortion was soundly defeated.

Idaho’s outcome stood in stark contrast to the other three ballot questions, with 56% voting against the approval of Proposition 1 and 44% voting in favor, nearly the inverse of Missouri’s outcome, where 55% of voters struck down an amendment that would have reinstated the ban that was overturned through a ballot initiative in 2024. 

By Jennifer Shutt

Voting ended Tuesday in this year’s midterm elections, leaving officials and volunteers counting tens of millions of ballots to determine which U.S. House and Senate candidates will take the oath of office in January.

The post-election process includes numerous steps and varying deadlines for when ballots have to be certified, since each state has different laws governing not only what happens on Election Day but what happens afterward.

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