David Yancey’s victory will give the GOP a 51-49 advantage in the House of Delegates. | Jonathon Gruenke/The Daily Press via AP Republican wins drawing to decide control of Virginia statehouse The name of David Yancey was pulled out of a film canister, a wild end to an election that could determine the fate of Medicaid expansion in the state.

Republicans will fully control Virginia’s House of Delegates after an incumbent GOP member won a drawing Thursday to decide a tied election — and potentially the fate of Medicaid expansion in the state.

The state elections board chairman pulled a film canister out of a ceramic bowl containing the name of Republican David Yancey, giving him the victory over Democrat Shelly Simonds. Each received 11,608 votes in the race for a Newport News-based seat in the Virginia legislature’s lower chamber.


Yancey’s victory will give the GOP a 51-49 advantage in the House of Delegates. Democrats staged an unexpectedly strong performance in the November election, winning 15 seats and nearly erasing the GOP’s 66-34 majority.

Thursday’s drawing came after a three-judge panel refused to hear Simonds’ arguments over a single contested ballot. While an initial recount gave Simonds a one-vote lead, Yancey’s lawyers successfully argued a discarded ballot should have been counted as a vote for the Republican.

The drawing will likely have major implications for Democratic Gov.-elect Ralph Northam’s agenda. Northam is trying to complete Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s long push to expand Medicaid in the state, and now will have to work with a GOP-controlled chamber to do so. Northam has signaled a willingness to work with the GOP on Medicaid expansion, to the dismay of some progressive groups.

Simonds said after the drawing she could potentially challenge the result in court and call for a new recount.

“At this moment, I am not conceding," she told reporters.

Before the drawing, Simonds had pressured Yancey not to seek a recount.

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“This proposal is simple, clean, and will bring the quickest resolution to this election. And most importantly, it will ensure that our friends and neighbors (in the 94th District) have a voice in the House of Delegates,” Simonds said on Wednesday.

He declined.

“I have always said I will follow the process laid out in state law,” Yancey responded. “I am not going to deny myself or the people of the 94th District due process simply because of the unnecessary delays that have got us to this point.”

Even if Simonds does somehow reverse the result, it’s not clear she would be seated in time to deny a Republican the speakership. The legal process could last until after the first day of the legislature on Jan. 10. Republicans, with a 50-49 advantage, could use a simple majority vote to elect a GOP speaker.

Other Democratic groups used the result to highlight GOP gerrymandering in Virginia and other states.

"Republican-controlled state legislatures have been cheating Americans and undermining our democracy for years with systemic gerrymandering, rigged district maps and a concerted effort to restrict the right to vote, and today's sham straw drawing is just the tip of the iceberg," said Ben Wexler-Waite, a spokesman for Forward Majority, a super PAC that supports Democratic state legislative candidates and spent money backing Simonds.

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