Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, plans to call for a recount in the 17th district state Senate race that could give Republicans full control of the state government.
Houck, the incumbent, currently trails Republican Bryce Reeves by 224 votes, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.
"There were several significant discrepancies during Tuesday night's tabulation that deserve further attention during the canvassing and certification process," Houck's campaign manager, Craig Bieber, said in an email.
Republicans already control 66 of the 100 seats in the House of Delegates. Should the Senate results hold, Republicans will favor from a 20-20 split in the Senate with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling holding the tie-breaking vote. This could make it easier for Republican legislation to be approved, said Larry Sabato, director of the University's Center for Politics.
"A lot of legislation from the heavily GOP House will die in Senate committee," he said in an email, noting that in split houses, committee control is traditionally divided between the parties.
"However, I expect various parliamentary maneuvers from time to time to try to get key legislation directly to the floor, where it might pass 21-20."
If Houck does not prevail in a recount, he will lose the seat he has held since he was first elected in 1984.
Sabato said the shift was only a matter of time.
"Houck's hard work and intense campaigning kept [the seat] democratic for 28 years," he said. "However, Reeves was an energetic, well financed GOP opponent. Houck's luck ran out, as it often does eventually when the incumbent is of a different party ID than the district's leanings"
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