Virginia Democrats scored victories in the first races since Trump’s re-election

On By Littum

The monumental 2024 election took place just nine weeks ago, and many voters are still catching their breath after an overwhelming season of casting ballots, watching campaign ads, reading polls, watching debates and scrolling through social media feeds.

However, there is no rest for the weary: the first closely watched election of 2025 is already upon us, and That was reported by NBC News on the results.

Democrats won a pair of special legislative elections in northern Virginia on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, allowing the party to maintain its slim majority in both chambers. … In a special election for the Senate, Democrat Kannan Srinivasan, currently a member of the state House, defeated Republican Tumay Harding. … And in a special House race, Democrat JJ Singh, a former Capitol Hill aide and small business owner, defeated Republican Ram Venkatachalam.

The news for the GOP wasn’t all bad: In a conservative Senate district west of Richmond, Republican Luther Cifers won his contest the same day.

To be sure, the results weren’t entirely surprising: The candidates who were supposed to win actually prevailed. But that doesn’t make the results unimportant.

First, control of the chambers of the Virginia General Assembly was at stake: If the Democratic victories had gone the other way—and in off-year special election contests, you never really know—Republicans would have taken control of the House of Delegates and the state Senate in the commonwealth . With their victories, Democrats instead held on to their narrow majority, to the chagrin of Republican Gov. Glenn Younkgin, who is entering his final year in office.

Second, Virginia is one of two states that will hold statewide elections in 2025, including a competitive gubernatorial race, and those state legislative races were, as the NBC News report put it, “an early test of the political environment.”

But although it is best not to extrapolate also much from local legislative special elections, there was also a national dimension to these contests. Seam a political report noted that both parties were watching the contests for “clues about Republican durability in a Democratic stronghold that tilted toward Trump in November.”

For Democrats, the races served as a test run of their messaging against the incoming Trump administration, which they warned would compromise their individual rights and economic well-being. It’s a preview of how Democrats across the country will shape their arguments against Trump and his allies.

Election Day 2025 is only 300 days away. Watch this space.