RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Democrats have picked up wins in critical state Senate battlegrounds, leaving them just one seat shy of an outright majority that would give the party continued leverage to blunt GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s conservative agenda. Victories by Schuyler VanValkenburg in suburban Richmond and Russet Perry in northern Virginia, along with other Democratic wins, brought to at least 20 the number of seats the party will hold in the state’s 40-seat upper chamber, where the Republican lieutenant governor breaks ties. Other key Senate battlegrounds are too early to call. The balance of power in the House of Delegates is also at stake. Vote counting is still underway.
