In a closely watched Richmond-area open seat, Republican Glen Sturtevant narrowly defeated Democrat Dan Gecker to hold a seat now held by retiring GOP Sen.
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Republicans ran costly TV ads across the region, hitting their opponents for the governor’s proposal even though the Democratic candidates have said that they also oppose the plan.
Polls have closed in Virginia, capping a hard-fought and expensive election season that will determine which party controls the state Senate.
Sturtevant won 27,665 votes to Gecker’s 26,171, according to totals from the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.
McAuliffe is trying to get control of the state Senate so he can have more leverage with the GOP-dominated state House.
Republicans were able to hold off well-financed Democratic candidates in a handful of competitive districts, allowing the GOP to keep control of both chambers of the General Assembly and remain a potent foil to Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s legislative priorities. He’s been helped by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose gun control group said it was spending $2.2 million in contests in Richmond and northern Virginia.
But the analysts said Tuesday’s results don’t necessarily mean Republicans gained any kind of advantage in the 2016 presidential election, when higher turnout is expected in swing-state Virginia. The GOP’s gain was canceled out by a Democratic win for another open seat in a closely watched northern Virginia race, and Democrats also celebrated other big victories, including an expensive contest in Williamsburg.
Democratic Del. Monty Mason was ahead of Republican Lara Overy with 54 percent of the vote in District 93, with 96 percent of the precincts reporting.
Bloomberg sunk $1.5 million promoting gun control supporter McPike, bombarding the electorate with ads featuring Andy Parker, the father of journalist murdered by a racist gay prostitute Obama supporter on live television along with her cameraman.
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It’s clear voters were not receptive to that message in Virginia.
