Rep. Barbara Comstock became the first incumbent Republican in a key race to officially get picked off on Tuesday, losing her race in northern Virginia’s 10th Congressional District.
Democratic State Sen. Jennifer Wexton was declared the winner by NBC News and CNN as of 7:50 p.m. ET.
Comstock was seen as one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the nation. She had consistently trailed in polls of her suburban Washington, D.C. district, which roundly rejected Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The district is comprised of both wealthy suburbs and rural areas closer to the West Virginia border.
Comstock rode the 2014 red wave to the House, but this cycle found herself in the unenviable position of trying to appeal to GOP voters sharply divided in their fondness for the President.
The Virginia Republican tried to split the difference. Comstock voted against last year’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare and publicly rebuked Trump over his threat to shut down the government if Democrats didn’t get in line with his plan to dramatically reduce legal immigration. But she voted in support of the unpopular GOP tax plan.
This wishy-washiness failed to win over voters in the increasingly purple state.
Despite her long odds at victory, the National Republican Congressional Committee poured some $5 million in ad spending into her race, hoping to save her seat as Democrats seek to take back the House.
