Democrats are in good spirits locally and nationally after securing major victories in yesterday’s elections, including majorities in both chambers of Congress as well as key seats in both battleground and traditionally Republican states like Texas, Georgia, Michigan and Maine.
In solidly blue Fairfax County, the results fell in line with expectations, as voters joined the rest of Virginia in reelecting Sen. Mark Warner, along with incumbent Reps. James Walkinshaw (D-11), Suhas Subramanyam (D-10) and Don Beyer (D-8).
Local voters also backed three referendums to amend the state constitution by slightly higher margins than the overall electorate, whose support for the Democratic-led measures ranged from 56% to 62%.
According to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections, nearly 75% of Fairfax County voters said “yes” to codifying protections for reproductive health care, while 70% supported an elimination of the state’s unenforced ban on same-sex marriage and 68% voted to automatically restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies after they serve their sentences.
The support for Democrats extended to local races in Fairfax City and the Town of Herndon, where candidates aligned with the party secured mayoral and council seats.
“It was a fantastic night for Democrats, including in Fairfax County where we celebrated sending Senator Mark Warner and our Congressional delegation back to Washington to deliver affordability for the American people and accountability for [the Trump] administration,” Fairfax County Democratic Committee Executive Director Jeremy Cullimore said in a statement to FFXnow.
“FCDC volunteers stepped up at each and every one of our 265 precincts on Election Day to drive home that message and ‘Yes’ votes to help pass the three amendments on their ballot to enshrine our rights in Virginia’s constitution,” he added.
Early voting gains on Election Day turnout
After a surge in early voting, overall turnout in Fairfax County fell closely in line with the previous Congressional midterms in 2022.
Approximately 55.5% or 457,072 of the county’s 824,165 registered voters cast a ballot in the Nov. 3 election, per unofficial results from the Fairfax County Office of Elections. Nearly half of the ballots (46% or 212,237 votes) were cast in person prior to Election Day or returned by mail or drop box by the time polls closed at 7 p.m.
In comparison, the 2022 general election concluded with a 55.1% turnout or 407,013 ballots cast, including 138,310 or close to 34% of them through early voting or by mail. The 2026 results don’t yet include provisional ballots or mail ballots that can still be counted until noon on Friday (Nov. 6), as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.
Participation in this year’s general election also matches last year’s turnout, which fell just shy of 55.5% with statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general as well as General Assembly seats on the ballot. Turnout didn’t reach the heights of the last presidential election in 2024, which saw 72% of registered Fairfax County voters show up.
Cullimore noted that the increase in early and mail voting continues a recent trend in Virginia, which significantly expanded voting options in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of no-excuse absentee voting, same-day voter registration and ballot drop boxes.
“Voters were eager to make their voices heard and we are seeing that with more and more of them utilizing Virginia’s 45-day early vote window or voting by mail,” Cullimore said. “Fairfax County Democrats will carry this momentum into 2027 where we’ll work to help expand our majorities in Richmond and support our local candidates to win each and every race on the ballot.”
Looking ahead to 2027
The next election cycle will be a busy one in Fairfax, featuring all local offices, including the Board of Supervisors, school board, sheriff and commonwealth’s attorney, as well as the General Assembly.
Republicans have struggled to find traction in Fairfax County in recent years, with the exception of longtime Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who briefly pursued the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor last year before dropping out due to health issues. However, Fairfax County Republican Committee Chair Katie Gorka says her party is committed to changing that trend in 2027:
“The Fairfax GOP will continue to fight for what we know to be true: That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice, and that all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society. Last night’s results don’t change those convictions. We are already looking to the 2027 elections, when 52 state and local positions will be on the ballot, and we will work hard for Republican victories in those elections.”
With control of the state legislature at stake, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), who represents southeastern Fairfax County, expressed confidence that his caucus will secure 27 seats in 2027, increasing its existing two-person majority, and “continue building on the progress Virginians demanded” in the upcoming session starting in January.
He characterized last night’s election results as a repudiation of President Donald Trump and “his MAGA allies,” pointing to the ratification of the three constitutional amendments and victories for Democrats Shannon Taylor and Elaine Luria in Virginia’s tightly contested 1st and 2nd Congressional districts.
“Virginians are tired of an administration that puts politics ahead of people, drives up the cost of everyday goods through reckless tariffs, and makes life less affordable for working families,” Surovell said in a statement released last night. “And they are tired of a Virginia Republican Party that has remained silent while Trump threatens our economy, attacks our democracy, and puts his own political interests ahead of the people he was elected to serve.”
The “blue wave” that swept Virginia and much of the U.S. in this year’s election came as little surprise to Mark Rozell, the founding dean and Hazel faculty chair in public policy at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.
Noting that Virginia presaged the leftward shift in the 2025 election, when Democrats won all three statewide races and majorities on the state Senate and House of Delegates, he says the only disappointment for the party in the state this year was in the 5th Congressional District, where Tom Perriello is currently trailing incumbent John J. McGuire.
“That normally would not be competitive for the Democrats and their candidate made it very close this time,” Rozell told FFXnow.
The Democratic victories across the country were driven in large part by anti-Trump sentiment, leading Rozell to caution Virginia Democrats against equating it with support for all of their policy proposals, particularly any that might lead to increased taxes:
While the Democrats can celebrate now, the next step is the difficult one of transitioning to policymaking and doing so in a way that does not overstep the meaning of their mandate. So much of the vote was anti-Trump. The temptation for Democrats is to believe that the election was an affirmation of all of their policy agenda ideas. If they misread the mandate and lurch far left next year in the General Assembly, there could be yet another backlash election. They need to be careful about the real meaning of the elections this year.
I think more generally the Democrats in the General Assembly need to focus on the issues that voters spoke to loudly in this election – cost of living, especially gas, food, housing. That’s it. If some of their enthusiasm spills over into new tax proposals, then Watch the Republicans again make that the narrative about the Democratic Party agenda.
Still, Rozell says this election was “a massive victory” for Democrats nationwide, with both moderate and progressive-minded candidates finding success.
“No one faction now is in control of the fate of the party,” he said.
