VA State Special Election Delivers Crushing Blow to DNC

Posted on by PG Newser

The GOP candidate for a special election for the House of Delegates District 98 seat beat the DNC challenger by 25 points. Republican Andrew Rice defeated Democrat Cheryl Smith 62.5% to 37.5%. While the district is already Republican, the depth of the victory by a non-incumbent over a Democrat challenger serves as a warning to the Virginia Democrats in power that support for their radical agenda is not as deep and profound as they imagine.

Blurb:

GOP Candidate Notches Landslide Special Election Win Ahead Of Democrat-Led Redistricting Vote – trendingpoliticsnews.com

Republican candidate Andrew Rice cruised to victory in the special election for Virginia House of Delegates District 98, ultimately defeating Democrat Cheryl Smith by a wide margin of 25 percentage points. The result constitutes a significant over-performance when compared with President Donald Trump’s margin of victory in the 2024 presidential election and comes ahead of a key redistricting referendum that could draw out three U.S. House districts currently controlled by the GOP.

Official results showed Rice receiving 7,316 votes, or 62.5 percent, compared to Democrat candidate Cheryl Smith’s 4,392 votes, or 37.5 percent

The election filled the vacancy left by the death of longtime Republican incumbent Delegate Barry Knight earlier this year. Knight had represented the district, which covers parts of southern Virginia Beach including rural communities such as Pungo, for many years and won re-election in 2023 with nearly 90 percent of the vote and in 2025 with roughly 57 percent against Smith.

Rice, a deputy commonwealth’s attorney in Virginia Beach and a lifelong district resident, defeated five other Republicans in a February 2026 firehouse primary to secure the nomination.