The GOP will have a one to two seat advantage in the VA Senate after the election.
I'm sorry Hifly but even if the Pubs could have competitive candidates, it's D+6 Herring and Northam's district!
After election night nothing will have changed. After the inauguration in January 8, you might see a 2 seat advantage for the GOP, as that is also the first day of the new legislative session. Interestingly, the special election could be held as early as December, in which case the new candidates could take their seats before inauguration day. In that case, assuming Dems win both seats, there would be no shift in power.
Even if the election were held later, I can't imagine it making that much a difference, since anything passed in those few days or weeks could be vetoed by the governor. New legislation could then be passed after the new members were seated.
The only scenario where I can imagine this being a big deal would be if Cuccinelli won the governorship, but the Dems won both of the other seats. In that (unlikely) scenario, Cuccinelli could elect to have a February special election (ensuring a GOP majority in both houses for at least a month) and then pass a flurry of bills before the new senators could take their seats.
The odds of a Cuccinelli win coupled with a Northam and Herring loss are, of course, remote.
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