Update: Court Refuses To Certify on Wed. | Dem Shelly Simonds Wins Va Recount, Marking Historic Female Wins That Tie Va House of Delegates
/Update: Scratch the 1 vote victory in Va. The court refused to certify the win over a new irregular ballot. The race is now tied. The winner is chosen in a coin toss -- BUT if the loser wants to call for another recount s(he) can do so. Good goddess!! Read the details at QaPo.
Virginia's Shelly Simonds wept . . . and then she marched on Jan. 21 . . . and then she ran for Virginia's House of Delegates . . . and then on an incredible November night when Democrats swept Virginia . . . Shelly Simonds lost . . . by 10 votes . . . which triggered a recount . . . which will be certified by a 3-judge panel tomorrow.
Shelly Simonds wept . . . and then she marched . . . and then she WON by ONE vote in a recount that put Democrats and Republicans tied for control of Virginia's House of Delegates . . . with a Democratic Lt. Governor and Governor. Bipartisanship is now a new key word in Virginia politics.
If EVER you believed that your vote doesn't count, consider that a recount in Virginia has flipped a Republican win and given it to Democrat Shelly Simonds. The Republican incumbent David Yancey won the seat by only 10 votes coming out of the November elections, in which Dems swept the state. A recount was legally triggered, giving Simonds the win by ONE vote. ONE SINGLE VOTE!! A three-judge panel still must certify the results, an event scheduled for Wednesday.
As a result, that single vote results in a tie for control of the House of Delegates. Republicans hold a 21-19 edge in the state senate, with a Democratic lieutenant governor to break ties, and a Democratic governor with veto power, Republicans, surely it's safe to assume that Virginia will govern based on a more bipartisan agenda.
In this respect, Virginia become a new experiment in tribal governing in a purple -- increasingly blue state.
Shelly Simonds is one of thousands of women motivated to run for public office for the first time as a result of the January 21 Women's March. She was backed by We of Action, an Indivisible / Women's March group.
In November all of the 12 Democrat incumbent women won reelection. Before today's recount, 10 Democratic women challengers routed Republican men. A look at Virginia's List pics shows a representative mix of racial backgrounds in this increasingly blue state. ~ Anne