RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - Republicans kept control of Virginia's House of Delegates on Thursday after their candidate won a lottery-style drawing to resolve a tied race, but the losing Democrat said she might challenge the results.
As cameras clicked in a packed room in Richmond, the state elections board chairman pulled a film canister containing Republican incumbent David Yancey's name from a blue-and-white ceramic bowl loaned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The win over Democrat Shelly Simonds gives Republicans a slim 51-49 advantage in seats when the legislature's session starts on Wednesday, letting them determine the House speaker and committee chairmen.The tie-breaking draw, Virginia's first since 1971, was unprecedented because of its impact on the House, board Vice Chairwoman Clara Belle Wheeler said."This has never been done before for the longest-running, oldest legislative body, if you will, in the New World,” she said after the drawing.Simonds told reporters she was weighing her options, raising the prospect of a second recount in a race that has seen several twists since the November vote."At this moment, I am not conceding," she said.Yancey initially appeared to have won the contest in southeastern Virginia's 94th District by 10 votes. Then a recount showed Simonds beating Yancey by one vote. But after a court ruled that a disputed ballot should be counted for Yancey, the race was left in a tie.Carl Tobias, an expert in constitutional law at the University of Richmond, said Simonds probably would opt for a fast recount by election officials, although the House could end up deciding the race.Yancey would not be seated in the case of a recount. But Republicans would still control the House by a 50-49 margin, despite Democrats' massive gains in Virginia's statehouse elections in November. Yancey, prevented by a winter storm from attending the drawing, said in a statement, "The election is behind us, the outcome is clear, and my responsibility now is to begin the work I was re-elected to do."Republicans also control the state Senate. Democrat Ralph Northam is to be sworn in as governor on Jan. 13.A second House race with a Republican winner remains in dispute. A hearing is set for Friday in a federal lawsuit over the 28th District election, where at least 147 ballots were assigned to the wrong districts. (Reporting by Gary Robertson and Colleen Jenkins; Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and James Dalgleish)