As a result of the November 5, 2019 elections, control of the Senate has flipped from a narrow Republican majority (21-19) in the 2018-2020 session to a 21-19 Democratic majority in the upcoming session.
The chamber flip turned on the outcome of two particular suburban districts where Democrats picked up control: Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim woman elected to the state Senate after defeating incumbent Glenn Sturtevant in the Richmond exurbs and exiting Delegate John Bell defeated Loudon County Supervisor Geary Higgins in Northern Virginia. These two flips were enough to tilt the balance of power in a still tightly balanced chamber.
Individually, there were a number of key elections that took place in the Senate this year. 4 district elections did not have an incumbent on the ballot and 7 elections (including some of the open seat races) were deemed “battleground” races by Ballotpedia.
