Virginia voters will take to the polls on Tuesday for elections that have captured some national attention, setting up a battle between the current and former presidents and potentially giving a preview of next year’s presidential election.
Though there may be no major federal races on the ballot, Virginia voters will be determining control of the Virginia State Senate and potentially giving total control of the state to Democrats for the first time in 25 years. Voters will decide on all 40 seats of the state Senate, where Republicans currently hold a slim 21-19 majority, as well as the 100 seats in the Virginia House. After Democrats have made big gains statewide in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential election in 2016, some believe they could be poised to hold all three stakes of the state’s government.
Polls close in Virginia at 7 p.m. local time, with results coming in the hours that follow. With all the attention on the state, there will be a number of ways to follow live results and up-to-date voting totals (more information on live voting results can be found below).
As the New York Times noted, the 2019 election in Virginia is seen as a referendum on Trump and could be an important bellwether for how the swing state will vote in next year’s presidential election.
“With all 140 seats in the Virginia legislature on the ballot, the normally low-interest races are expected to send a national message from a state that has been a seismograph of voting quakes in the Trump era,” the report noted.
“A strong blue wave in statehouse races in 2017 and a Democratic gain of three congressional seats in the 2018 midterms reflected the national grass-roots mobilization of women, as well as the suburban revolt against the president.”
Donald Trump has already weighed in on the 2019 Virginia elections, urging voters this week to support Republican candidates while touting his own record in the state, taking to Twitter on Tuesday to say he brought a “massive amount of defense and other work” to the state.
Barack Obama stepped into the races as well, releasing a series of endorsements for key statewide races in the hopes of boosting Democrats. The former president’s involvement could give a much-needed boost to Democrats, who already hold the governor’s house after the election of Ralph Northam and have the chance to flip both houses of the state legislature with a strong turnout.
There will be a number of ways to follow along live results of the 2019 Virginia election. Those who want to find live voting totals can check out the state’s official website here . CNN is also carrying live updates and analysis from the races.