Democrats Flip Virginia Seat Held by Republicans for Over 25 Years

Democrat Aaron Rouse has won the race to replace Republican Jen Kiggans in Virginia's 7th state Senate district on Tuesday during the state's special election ahead of the 2023 General Assembly session, flipping a seat that had been a GOP stronghold since 1996.

"THANK YOU! With your support, and the support of voters from across Virginia Beach and Norfolk, we have won this Special Election," Rouse wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night.

"No rest for the weary – tomorrow, we head to Richmond to get to work for Virginia families."

The former Virginia Beach City Councilman and NFL player beat his Republican opponent Kevin Adams by a thin margin, with less than one percent of the vote over his competitor.

But Rouse's win was hailed by his fellow Democrats, with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee tweeting on Tuesday night that "his victory will help Dems defend our majority in the VA Senate this fall!"

In a previous tweet, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee stated: "In 2022, Democratic state legislative candidates had the best midterm election year in modern history. This year, we're ready to build Democratic power, with a focus on winning back the Virginia House and defending the Virginia Senate."

Rouse's victory strengthens Democrats's numbers in the Senate, where they currently hold a majority after achieving better-than-expected midterm results in November.

Senator Scott Surovell, representing Virginia's state Senate 36th district, celebrated Rouse's victory as growing the Democratic majority in the chamber "to 22 members by flipping the 1st VA senate seat in a special election from R-->D since '10."

Surovell referred to the victory of Democrat David W. Marsden over Republican Ken Cuccinelli in the race for Virginia's 37th Senate district in a hotly contested special election in 2010.

Rouse has now flipped the 7th Senate district seat after this had been held by three different Republican Senators for the past 27 years, with Ed Schrock, Frank Wagner and Jen Kiggans occupying the seat.

Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, released a statement on Tuesday night, saying that Rouse's "outstanding victory" represented a "powerful mandate" given to the candidate by the people of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

"Glenn Youngkin's hateful and extreme attempts to ban access to safe, legal abortion have no place in the Commonwealth. Senator-elect Rouse will be an outstanding addition to our Senate Democratic caucus, and I look forward to watching him deliver for Virginians, just as he delivered for the residents of Virginia Beach as a City Councilman," Swecker said.

Rouse is expected to defend abortion rights in Virginia, where the practice has remained accessible after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, but has no legal protection after the end of the second trimester—26 weeks and six days—of a pregnancy.

Abortions from the start of the third trimester are only allowed if carrying on the pregnancy pose an imminent danger to the mother's life.

Correction, 01/11/23, 5:45 a.m. ET: The headline on this article was updated to reflect that the seat has been flipped for the first time in over 25 years, not 30.