RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters returned Democrat Mark Warner to a third term in the U.S. Senate on an election night that will determine the staying power of a “blue wave” that flipped two competitive congressional districts in the state two years ago.

Warner defeated little-known Republican challenger Daniel Gade.

As in other states, voters were deciding between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden.

Virginia’s election features three competitive House races, including two seats that were flipped from red to blue in 2018.

Polls closed at 7 p.m.

A guide to Election Day:

THE STAKES

Once a key swing state, Virginia has been trending blue for years thanks to the growth of its more diverse and liberal suburban and urban areas. Trump’s unpopularity has helped accelerate Democratic gains.

Neither Trump nor Biden spent much time campaigning in Virginia.

Warner's victory came in a Senate race that garnered little attention compared to other states where much closer races could decide the balance of power in the upper chamber. He defeated Gade on Tuesday in a low-key race where the outcome was never in doubt. Democrats have not lost a statewide election in Virginia since 2009. Warner is a former governor and current vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He had a massive cash advantage and scared off well-known Republicans from running against him. The coronavirus pandemic and the presidential contest between Trump and Biden left little room for voters’ attention. And the highly contagious nature of the disease prevented both candidates from the stumping that defines traditional campaigns.

TOP HOUSE RACES

U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria were defending seats they flipped from red to blue two years ago when they won Trump-friendly districts and helped Democrats take control of the U.S. House.

Spanberger and Luria are part of a group of moderate Democrats who came to Congress with deep military and intelligence experience. Their credentials were instrumental in pushing the House to impeach Trump over allegations that he pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden.

Luria is a former U.S. Navy commander running against Republican Scott Taylor. Taylor is a former Navy SEAL who represented the 2nd Congressional District for one term before Luria defeated him in 2018.

The district spans the state’s Atlantic coast and includes Virginia Beach as well as the world’s largest Navy base, in Norfolk.

Spanberger, a former CIA operations officer, is defending her seat in the 7th Congressional District against Republican challenger Nick Freitas. Freitas is a delegate in Virginia’s House and a former U.S. Army Green Beret.

The closest race, though, may well be in the 5th District, a sprawling parcel the size of New Jersey that stretches from a tiny swath of the outer suburbs in northern Virginia through Charlottesville, all the way down to southside Virginia and the North Carolina border. The seat is open after one-term Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman lost a nominating convention to cultural conservative Bob Good, a former athletics official at Liberty University.

The libertarian-leaning Riggleman angered the GOP base in his district by officiating a same-sex wedding. While the district leans Republican, Democrat Cameron Webb, an African American physician and political newcomer, has run a strong campaign.

REDISTRICTING BALLOT INITIATIVE

Voters will also decide a referendum that would put next year’s redistricting in Virginia in the hands of a bipartisan commission.

If successful, the commission of citizens and legislators will redraw the state’s congressional and General Assembly districts to conform with the 2020 Census.

The amendment would turn over the task of drawing state and congressional maps, beginning with the 2021 redistricting, to a 16-member panel of eight legislators and eight citizens, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. The eight citizens would be chosen by judges from a list prepared by legislators.

Some Democrats have tried to defeat the measure, arguing that the changes would keep politicians too involved in the process. Republicans have said that Democrats just want to ensure that they control the process now that they are in power.

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