Virginia Democrat wins state House seat after 2017 election loss in random drawing

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A Virginia Democrat who lost her 2017 bid for a seat in the state's House of Delegates in a random drawing following a tie is the projected winner of Tuesday's election.

Shelly Simonds ousted her Republican opponent Del. David Yancey to flip the 94th District seat, garnering 58 percent of the vote to Yancey's 40 percent, the Associated Press projected.

Democrats also took control of the state Senate on Tuesday for the first time in 25 years.

Virginia House of Delegates candidate Shelly Simonds speaks to members of the press following a meeting of the Virginia State Board of Elections in 2018. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Simonds won her third bid for the House of Delegates in a rematch against the four-term Yancey, who was reelected after winning a random drawing following a tie vote in 2017. Both candidates had received 11,608 votes each in the Newport News district.

Simonds initially led by one vote, but a recount and a court challenge determined that both candidates received the same number of votes.

This year's election featured harsh rhetoric between the progressive Simonds, a seven-year veteran of the Newport News School Board, and her GOP opponent, the Daily Press reported Tuesday.

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She accused Yancey of being as untruthful as President Trump, while he blamed her for the poor record of Newport News schools, according to the publication.

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Simonds also ran on a gun control platform, promising to introduce gun legislation to crack down on firearms trafficking and increase penalties for those who sell stolen guns or use them in crimes.

She was one of several candidates endorsed by former President Barack Obama.