Virginia Swings Further Toward GOP; Democrats Pray for Recount

Here we go with another recount.

An apparent 86-vote victory by a Republican candidate will tie up the Virginia Senate at 20-20, and give the GOP effective control via the Republican lieutenant governor as president pro-tem of the chamber.

The slim margin triggers an automatic recount, and Democrats are hoping they can reverse the result and hold onto the majority. Before this donneybrook is over, it could look like Wisconsin all over again.

The Democrats' loss of another Senate seat earlier Tuesday evening put them in a precarious position. Republicans already hold the governor's office and picked up enough seats in the House to build a two-thirds majority there.

In the Senate, freshman Republican Sen. Bill Stanley ousted 3-term Democrat Roscoe Reynolds. Stanley won a plurality of 46.8 percent, despite tea party activist Jeff Evans taking 7.6 percent, according to news reports late Tuesday.

Democratic Sen. Phillip Puckett narrowly held on to his seat in southwestern Virginia coal country against a challenge from Republican Adam Light.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Puckett's race was so contentious that he renounced Barack Obama after Light and the GOP labeled him the president's man on cap-and-trade and other unpopular policies.

Heading into 2012, Virginia remains a key swing state -- and right now, it's swinging toward Republicans.