Here is how the midterm elections went in Virginia

Virginia will send six Democrats and five Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives following midterms elections, which included three hotly contested bellwethers indicating the potential for a national red wave.

Republicans picked up a seat in Virginia’s competitive 2nd District. State Sen. Jen Kiggans defeated Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria by four percentage points. The district became more difficult for Luria following redistricting earlier this year.

In another closely watched race, Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defended her seat against Republican challenger Yesli Vega by four percentage points in the 7th District, which gained a slight Democratic lean through redistricting.

In the 10th District, Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton defeated Republican challenger Hung Cao by nearly six percentage points. 

Other races for congressional seats across Virginia saw no unexpected upsets. 

The University of Richmond campus is divided between two congressional districts, the 4th District, represented by Rep. Donald McEachin (D), and the 1st District, represented by Rob Wittman (R). Both McEachin and Wittman won their districts by relatively wide margins, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Both districts were also affected by congressional redistricting.

“A lot of people expected the Republicans were gonna do a little bit better, like a big red wave, but it wasn't as much as we thought, which is disappointing,” said junior Brady Lang, president of the UR College Republicans.

“I am still kind of stressed out about it, actually, because the House and the Senate haven't been called, or at least by most news outlets,” said senior Lexi Cobbs, president of the UR College Democrats.

UR has hosted a polling station for several election cycles at the Jepson Alumni Center, where community members and students came to cast their votes in the 4th congressional district.

Robert Grymes, a voter, said that he was not driven by a specific issue, but always showed up to vote. 

“I'm a Republican so I plan to vote Republican,” he said.

Grymes said he trusted the candidates he supported to use good judgment and their expertise to make positive changes to the community. 

About 2.5 million people voted of the 6 million people who are registered across the state, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Nearly a million of these ballots were cast in early voting.

Contact city and state editor Eileen Pomeroy at eileen.pomeroy@richmond.edu.