While Republicans were able to maintain control of Virginia’s state House by a single seat, many races were extremely close and Democrats initiated recounts in several elections — one of them being the 94th District. The Virginia Board of Elections met Thursday and randomly selected the winner from two film canisters placed in a bowl from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the culmination of several weeks of uncertainty surrounding who would win the seat for the 94th district in the state House. Initially, Yancey, who did not attend Thursday's drawing due to the snow storm that affected his coastal Virginia home, won by 10 votes, but after a recount, the votes were tied 11,608 to 11,608. Following a wave election for Virginia Democrats, GOP members in Virginia’s House of Delegates saw their once-strong 66-43 majority drop to a razor slim 51-49 majority. But it’s unlikely that the result of the drawing will end the weeks-long saga, as the Democrat, Shelly Simonds, can request another recount as the losing candidate, which would put the high-stakes race in limbo again for at least several more days.
A drawing is held to resolve a tied election between Democrat Shelly Simonds and Republican David Yancey, with Yancey being randomly chosen as the winner.