Democrats won two of the three House races in Virginia that they had targeted to flip, giving the party control of eight of the state’s 11 House districts in perhaps the high-water mark of a blue wave that began there last year.
Shannon Taylor, the top prosecutor for Henrico County, outside Richmond, defeated longtime incumbent Rob Wittman in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, while former congresswoman Elaine Luria regained her old seat by defeating Rep. Jen Kiggans in the 2nd District.
In the bright-red 5th District in central Virginia, former congressman Tom Perriello (D) fell short in his challenge to incumbent John McGuire (R).
The Associated Press called Taylor’s and McGuire’s victories Thursday.
Virginia Democrats had hoped to secure an advantage this year in as many as four red districts by redrawing the state’s House maps. But the Supreme Court of Virginia struck down a redistricting referendum approved in the spring by voters, leaving the election to take place under existing maps.
That setback initially dampened partisan interest in Virginia’s congressional races. As one of only two states — along with New Jersey — that holds statewide elections the year after a presidential race, Virginia had already experienced a blue wave in 2025. That year, Democrats gained 13 seats in the House of Delegates — roughly double even the most favorable party estimates — and won the governor’s race by 15 percentage points.
This year, a faltering economy, the war in Iran and plummeting national approval of President Donald Trump tilted voter sentiment toward Democrats and suggested further blue gains in Virginia. The national party identified the three congressional seats in Virginia as potential pickups in the contest to win control of the House.
The Kiggans seat, based in Virginia Beach, has long been one of the most competitive in the country, toggling between parties for many years. It went narrowly for Trump in 2024 and by a wider margin for Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor last year.
Luria won this year by 8.5 percentage points, according to unofficial results — slightly better than Spanberger’s 7.6-point margin. Both Kiggans and Luria are military veterans, which is key in a district that’s home to major bases, but Luria won by tying Kiggans to her support for Trump policies such as the war, tariffs and cutting Medicaid.
Taylor’s win is a dramatic change for the 1st District, which stretches from the Richmond suburbs up into the rural Northern Neck and has been in Republican hands for nearly 50 years.
Wittman, seeking his 10th full term, won reelection in 2024 by more than 12 points. That year the district was considered the national median, exactly in the center of all districts nationwide in terms of support for president (Trump won it by 4.9 percentage points).
Taylor, who ran on themes of ending corruption in Washington and banning stock trades by members of Congress, beat Wittman by slightly more than two percentage points, according to unofficial results.
McGuire’s seat in central Virginia was a much longer shot for Democrats. McGuire had won the GOP primary two years before by casting himself as more MAGA than the incumbent, Bob Good, who was chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. McGuire won the general election in 2024 by 15 percentage points.
Perriello represented an earlier and slightly bluer version of the district for one term until after the 2010 election, when his vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act ran afoul of his constituents and cost him his seat.
His experience as a campaigner and his family ties to deep-blue Charlottesville had raised hopes among Democrats that he could take back the seat, even without a redrawn map that would have made it easier for Democrats to win. Former president Barack Obama recorded a late message urging support.
But the effort fell just short. McGuire won by about two percentage points, according to unofficial results.
Virginia had its blue tsunami last year; this year was more like a follow-on high tide as voters focused on national politics.
Rising hay and diesel prices have made it almost impossible for Noelle Ruane, 62, to turn a profit on her cow-calf farm near the town of Scottsville.
“It’s really driving everyone to the brink to hold on to their properties,” Ruane said.
She voted for Perriello because she thought he could stand up to the Trump administration, especially on the war in Iran, which has driven up diesel prices.
“The Senate and the House of Representatives have, unfortunately, been a rubber stamp for the craziest of Trump’s ideas,” Ruane said.
In Colonial Beach, in Wittman’s district, Stewart Smith, 62, called the war in Iran a “necessary evil” and said he doesn’t blame it for the worsening economy.
“It’s important to stop the threat in Iran,” he said.
Smith said he’s fine paying higher gas prices, which he believes are “temporary.” He voted a straight Republican ticket this year, though he said he doesn’t always vote Republican.
Isabella Kunc and Summer Hu contributed to this report.
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