Firehouse primaries took place on Dec. 21 to select candidates in the special election for District 89 of the Virginia House of Delegates. Jackie Glass was selected as the Democratic nominee, and Giovanni Dolmo was nominated by Republicans. Glass and Dolmo are facing off in the special election on Jan. 11. The winner will serve until January 2024.
The special election was called after Jerrauld Jones (D) announced his resignation from the seat on Dec. 16. Jones’ resignation will take effect by the end of 2021. He has represented District 89 since 2018 and was last re-elected in November with 79.9% of the vote.
Elections were held for all 100 seats of the Virginia House in November. Republicans won a 52-48 majority, flipping the chamber from a 55-seat Democratic majority. Virginia will have a divided government after Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) and newly elected members of the state House begin their terms in January. The state Senate is controlled by a 21-19 Democratic majority.
As of December, 18 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2022 in 12 states. Between 2011 and 2021, an average of 74 special elections took place each year. Virginia held 35 state legislative special elections from 2011 to 2021.
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