Republican David Yancey will keep his seat in the Virginia House of Delegates after a state official pulled his name out of a bowl Thursday, deciding a contest that ended in a tie in November.
Yancey and Democrat Shelly Simonds each received 11,608 votes in their Newport News-based district. Initial results showed Yancey leading by just 10 votes. A recount gave Simonds a one-vote edge. But Republicans challenged a single ballot, resulting in a tie.
Democrats sued to overturn the challenge, but on Wednesday a three-judge panel rejected their complaint. That led to Thursday’s drawing, in Richmond, out of a special bowl crafted by the resident potter at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
{mosads}Yancey would be the 51st Republican in the 100-member House of Delegates. Before November’s elections, Republicans held 66 seats. But Democrats put up a surprisingly strong showing, netting 15 Republican-held seats — and coming within a single vote of claiming a tie.
Virginia state law allows the loser of the draw to request a second recount. Simonds said Wednesday she would not request a second recount if she lost the drawing. Yancey declined to make the same pledge.