The insane House race for the 94th district, which began with the Democratic candidate, Shelly Simonds, winning by a single vote on Dec. 19, ended with the Republican incumbent, Yancey, winning the election after his name was drawn out of a film canister placed in a ceramic bowl.
The victory for Simmonds was seen as a final blow for Republicans in Virginia, who lost 15 House seats in November’s election — a rout that many observers saw as a tacit rejection of President Trump’s policies.
“I want to thank the voters who came out on Nov. 7,” Simonds said in a statement after the Dec. 19 recount. “What a difference this is from 2015 when I ran before. Everyone came out and we rocked this town.”
While the result was yet to be certified by the panel of judges the next day, both Democrats and Republican leaders in the House of Delegates congratulated Simonds on the victory.
On Dec. 20, after Yancey’s campaign challenged a ballot they said went uncounted, a three-judge panel ruled that the single ballot was in fact a vote for him — making the race a tie.
During the panel hearing to certify the recounted votes, a GOP election official submitted a letter asking the court to look into the single ballot that he claimed should have been counted for the Republican.
According to a Daily Press reporter present at the hearing, the election official claimed that a Democratic colleague on his team convinced him not to count a ballot — where both candidates’ names were marked and where the voter had chosen Republican candidates in all the other races.
On Dec. 21, James Alcorn, the chairman of the Virginia State Board of Elections, announced that they would draw names to determine the winner of the now-tied race on Dec. 27.
In past elections, as per Virginia law, the state board draws the winner’s name out of a bowl in case of a tie.
The win means Republicans will narrowly keep control of the state House, holding 51-49 seats.
DEMOCRACY!
