Election Day is here in Virginia, where Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and Republican Ed Gillespie are competing in the only competitive statewide race on the ballot this year.

The campaign has evolved into a bruising battle in the final month, which has been dominated by culture war politics.

Polls close at 7 p.m. EST in Virginia. The Hill will be providing live updates from Northam and Gillespie’s election watch parties as the results roll in.

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Northam projected to win

Updated 8:15 p.m.

It's an early night in Virginia, as both The Associated Press and NBC have projected that Northam will win the race. The calls come as Northam pulls in large numbers in Democratic areas of the state while keeping his margins tight with Gillespie in more Republican ones.

With 60 percent of precincts reporting, Northam currently leads Gillespie 51.4 percent to 47.4 percent.

Northam in great position for victory.

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Updated 8:04 p.m.

While the two candidates continue to ping-pong back and forth with the overall margin, the news keeps looking better and better for Northam.

He's neck-and-neck in the GOP-leaning county of Chesterfield and slightly ahead in Virginia Beach, while he's pushing close to 80 percent of the total votes reported in both Alexandria and Arlington County.

That's why the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, has already called the race for Northam, even though no other major networks or news organizations have called the race.

Northam off to an early lead

Updated 7:40 p.m.

The first results are coming in, and it looks good for Northam. The Republican-leaning areas of the state are usually the first to report, so it's good news for the Democrat that he's already trading the lead back-and-forth with Gillespie. Both candidates are hovering right around 49 to 50 percent, switching off for first place almost by the minute in the New York Times's count of the polling. With 16 percent of precincts reporting, Northam is up 50.1 percent to 48.8 percent, but that margin continues to change. The close margin is a boon for the Democrats, who are still likely some time away from having votes from their strongholds pour in. Over half of Chesterfield is in and Gillespie up by less than a point.



That’s very ominous for the GOP — Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) November 8, 2017

Counties to watch Updated 7:28 p.m. As results trickle in, there will be a handful of key spots to watch. Northam will be looking to run up the score in Northern Virginia, particularly in Washington's suburbs, while Gillespie will focus on coal country voters in the southwest where Trump is popular. The Hill's Reid Wilson maps out the counties that have most consistently picked the winner in Virginia. Prince William County and Radford City chose the winner in the past nine statewide races in Virginia including presidential, Senate and governor. Other key areas to watch include: Albemarle County and Harrisonburg City (close to Charlottesville), Henrico County (Richmond suburbs), Loudoun County (Northern Virginia) Northampton County (eastern shore) and Sussex County (near Richmond). Read more here about what to watch in the results. Northam: This election is a "bellwether"

Updated 7:16 p.m.

Anxious Democrats have put all their chips on Northam as they look for a signature win that can propel them forward into the 2018 midterm election.

Northam isn't shying away from those stakes.

"We are the bellwether, people are looking at us to see what direction we go in. They want a governor who has some fire in his belly, who will stand up to the detrimental policies coming out of Washington and someone who can take Virginia to the next level," Northam told reporters at a campaign field office in Richmond Tuesday.

"I’m a proud Democrat, so anything I can do to help our party, help grow our base, bring more people under the tent and just realize the principles and values we believe in is very important to me. This is an important action, it is a bellwether, and it will feed into 2018 and beyond."

Rain complicates turnout picture

Updated 7:10 p.m.

It's been a blustery, rainy day across most of Virginia, where rain and cold temperatures could keep some voters from the polls.

It poured for a stretch outside of Richmond in the morning hours, with the heavy rain replaced by a light mist for the greater part of the afternoon. That weather moved right on up to Northern Virginia, a Democratic stronghold, which saw steady rain for most of the afternoon and early evening into the poll closings in many places.

Rain is always a wild card on Election Day, as experts say the bad weather can depress turnout on the margins.

Geoffrey Skelley, an elections analyst with The University of Virginia, summed up the dynamics in a tweet.

Rain pattern was definitely favorable to Rs -- only now exiting Northern VA. Who knows if it'll matter, but if Gillespie wins by the skin of his teeth, it's going to end up being a talking point. #VAGov — Geoffrey Skelley (@geoffreyvs) November 7, 2017

Polls closing

Updated 7:00 p.m.

The polls are now closed in Virginia, but don't expect results to start rolling in for another hour.

Gillespie will likely take an early lead since the first results coming in will be from places where he's expected to perform well.

Places like Northern Virginia, which have larger concentrations of Democratic voters, will come in later.

A must-win for Democrats

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Updated 6:30 p.m.

The pivotal race is a must-win for Democrats, who haven’t scored a major win yet since Trump took office. Democrats are anxious since Northam has lost some momentum in the race and are hoping a victory on Tuesday will give a them a much-needed boost going into the 2018 midterms.

The stakes are also high for Republicans who are looking to pull an upset in a state that Trump lost by 5 points last year. Virginia’s shifting demographics have pulled the state more to the left, but Democrats are still nervous about whether they can capitalize on Trump's unpopularity.