Danny Diggs unseated Democratic Virginia state Sen. T. Monty Mason in a silver lining gain for Republicans a day after they failed to flip the upper chamber.
Diggs, a former county sheriff, defeated incumbent Mason, who used to serve in the House of Delegates, in the Newport News-area 24th District. The race was so close that it wasn't called until Wednesday after Election Day, which saw Democrats take control of the House and retain control of the Senate, in a blow to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R-VA) agenda.
VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS AREN'T CAMPAIGNING AGAINST YOUNGKIN AHEAD OF TUESDAY ELECTIONS
The Tidewater region district has been represented by Mason since 2017, but voters' decision to send a Republican to Richmond wasn't enough to flip control of the upper chamber that Youngkin had been campaigning across Virginia to flip.
This race was one of the tightest in Virginia, with Diggs describing it as a "true 50-50" district that supported President Joe Biden in 2020 and Youngkin in 2021.
During the campaign, Mason pumped his bipartisan bona fides, supporting typically Republican policies such as tax cuts and allowing parents to have a final say in sexually explicit materials in classrooms.
Abortion was one of the most prominent debates across Virginia this cycle, and both Diggs and Mason said their opposing positions represent the public consensus. Mason ran on supporting Virginia's 26-week cutoff for abortion, while Diggs supported the Youngkin plan to restrict the procedure to 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother.
“I think overwhelmingly, nationally and statewide, people support the right to choose and want abortion to remain safe and legal,” Mason said, according to the Virginia Mercury. “I think Virginia has a strong law on the books, and we should not tamper with it.”
The Virginia Senate already rejected the proposal from Youngkin, and Republicans were hoping to win back control of the Senate in order to pass it.
Diggs, on the other hand, focused his campaign on his law enforcement background and emphasized public safety as well as education.
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Diggs came into the election endorsed by Youngkin, Rep. Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA), and a plethora of local elected officials.
Mason was endorsed by both U.S. senators from Virginia, Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), as well as Reps. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign, and several anti-gun organizations.