RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The winners of two closely watched U.S. House races in Virginia were still unclear the day after the Tuesday election as officials continue to verify and tabulate votes.

Overall, it was a mixed bag for Democrats, who had scored a series of victories during President Donald Trump's first term. Presidential candidate Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner easily won statewide contests, but Democrats' strength was shakier outside the heavily populated liberal suburbs of northern Virginia.

Officials were still counting votes as of Wednesday morning and vote totals could still shift because Friday is the deadline to receive mail-in absentee ballots.

That's why it was still too early to call the races of U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria, who 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. The pair are part of a group of moderate Democrats who came to Congress with deep military and intelligence experience.

Spanberger, a former CIA operations officer, is trying to hold on against Republican challenger Nick Freitas in the Richmond-area 7th Congressional District. Freitas is a delegate in Virginia’s House and a former U.S. Army Green Beret.

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.

Democrats had been hopeful both incumbents were going to lock down a clear victory on Election Day. And they were hoping that internal GOP-divisions also would help them win a GOP-friendly district in the western part of the state.

But conservative Bob Good defeated political newcomer Dr. Cameron Webb in the 5th District, which stretches vertically from the border with North Carolina north across nearly the entirety of the state. His victory came several months after GOP voters pushed the Republican incumbent, U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman, aside after Riggleman angered social conservatives by officiating a gay marriage.

In statewide elections, Democrats cruised. Unofficial results show Biden winning 9 percentage points with most of the vote counted. Warner has an even larger margin of victory over GOP challenger Daniel Gade.

Trump made noise about carrying Virginia, doing a quick campaign rally at the Newport News airport in September that drew thousands of supporters. Overall, though, the state was not a focus of either presidential campaign. While Virginia was considered a swing state as recently as 2012, it has trended sharply toward Democrats over the past decade. Republicans have not won statewide in Virginia since 2009.

Elsewhere in Virginia, three incumbent GOP House members — Reps. Rob Wittman, Ben Cline, and Morgan Griffith — held on to their seats, as did Democratic Reps. Don Beyer, Jennifer Wexton, Gerry Connolly, Bobby Scott and Don McEachin.

Voters also approved a referendum that puts next year’s redistricting in Virginia in the hands of a bipartisan commission. The amendment to the state constitution caps a years-long effort by reformers looking to end partisan gerrymandering. A bipartisan commission of citizens and legislators equally divided between Democrats and Republicans will now redraw the state’s congressional and General Assembly districts to conform with the 2020 Census.

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