Virginia voters elected Democratic Sen. Mark Warner to a fourth term Tuesday, returning him to the U.S. Senate after a statewide race against Republican Bert Mizusawa. The Associated Press called the contest for Warner at 7 p.m. Eastern, as polls closed in Virginia. The outcome keeps the seat in Democratic hands while voters in other states determine control of the chamber.

Unofficial state returns carried on the TAQ tracker through Open America listed 1,841,253 votes for Warner and 1,204,279 for Mizusawa in the feed updated at 10:21 p.m. Eastern. Those were the figures available at that point in the count. The totals can change as election officials receive reports and complete their review. Virginia publishes its own election returns for readers following the statewide tally.

Two candidates with different backgrounds

The Virginia Department of Elections listed both men for the same statewide Senate seat and identified Warner as the incumbent on its candidate roster. The office carries a six-year term. Voters across the commonwealth cast ballots in the contest, and the results from individual cities and counties contribute to a single statewide total.

Warner served as Virginia’s governor from 2002 to 2006 and first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2008. He secured his third term in 2020, according to his Senate biography. Before entering elected office, he worked in business and technology, including as an early investor in the cellular telephone industry. His fourth Senate victory extends a career that has taken him from the governor’s office in Richmond to committee leadership in Washington.

Mizusawa is a retired Army major general who served in Afghanistan, according to the AP. The Republican nominee brought a military background to a race against a senator whose work includes national security oversight. A state candidate list confirms the contest and the party labels. The final statewide margin and the places where each candidate drew his strongest support will come from the full set of official returns.

The challenger’s campaign biography also lists civilian assignments in the Senate, at the Pentagon and at the CIA. Those were different forms of federal service from Warner’s elected and committee roles. Virginia voters were choosing who would cast the state’s votes in the Senate for the next term. The final result will show how much support each candidate drew across the commonwealth.

Warner’s past victories have come by markedly different margins. Virginia’s 2014 archive shows him edging Republican Ed Gillespie by less than a percentage point. The state’s 2020 archive shows a wider advantage over Republican Daniel Gade, with 56.0% to 43.9% in the displayed statewide totals. The elections fell in different cycles, and Virginia’s 2026 margin will be comparable once the complete count is available.

The seat and the Senate’s balance

Virginia’s other U.S. senator, Democrat Tim Kaine, holds a different seat. The Senate roster records separate terms for the two senators. The Senate divides seats into three classes so that about one-third are up in each regular election cycle. Warner is in Class II, whose current terms expire in January 2027. Virginia’s 2026 ballot elected the next holder of that seat, while Kaine’s seat follows its own cycle.

Warner’s win holds a seat for Democrats as the two parties compete for a majority. The AP’s election methodology separates individual Senate calls from the call for control of the chamber. A party’s path to a majority includes seats it already holds, seats it gains from the other party and seats it loses. Virginia settles one contest on that board. Results from states where seats can change hands carry a different effect on the net total.

The significance to Virginia extends to the senator’s work once the next Congress convenes. Warner is currently the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Its published roster places him opposite Republican Chairman Tom Cotton of Arkansas. The Senate’s membership and organization determine the leadership of committees in each Congress. Tuesday’s call resolves who won the Virginia seat, while the chamber’s eventual lineup will shape who leads its panels.

Warner’s office also lists assignments on the Finance, Banking, Budget and Rules committees. Its committee roster includes subcommittee work in areas such as energy and infrastructure, trade, and financial institutions. Those assignments place Virginia’s incumbent in debates that can affect federal spending, the financial system and investments in local communities. Committee lists can be updated when a new Congress organizes.

The AP highlighted Virginia’s large federal workforce as a backdrop to this year’s election. The commonwealth is home to workers affected by federal employment decisions, as well as communities and businesses that serve federal agencies. A Senate seat gives its holder votes on spending and nominations and a role in congressional oversight. The result keeps a senator with a long record in those institutions in office for another term.

How the count moves from returns to certification

The state’s election-night site is the place to follow changes in the vote totals. A publication can update its tally on a different schedule from the state, so two pages may show different numbers at the same moment. The 10:21 p.m. figures are a time-stamped snapshot for the two candidates. Readers following the race should use the state’s results page for subsequent totals, including any write-in category the state reports.

The state elections department explains that statewide results become official when the State Board of Elections certifies them. It also provides reporting downloads and a way to examine changes to returns. The AP call and certification are separate steps. The first is the news organization’s decision about the winner based on its election analysis. The second is the government’s formal approval of the totals after officials have finished checking the returns.

The distinction also matters when comparing Virginia’s Senate race with other contests on the same ballot. House districts have their own candidate lists and reporting totals. A statewide call for Warner does not settle any of those district contests. Each has its own count, and in a close race additional reports can change a lead. The state site lists the available contests separately so voters can follow the results for their own districts. The statewide return can also be compared with the locality tables. Virginia publishes updates to the results and an archive that allows readers to revisit earlier elections after the current contest has been completed.

The county and city breakdown will also show how the statewide margin was assembled. A candidate can win fewer localities and still win the statewide race if the places that favor that candidate contribute enough votes. That makes the completed totals, and the turnout behind them, more informative than a map that gives every locality equal visual weight. For the Senate seat, the final margin will be calculated from the statewide sum.

Tuesday’s call settles the main result in the race between Mark Warner and Bert Mizusawa. Warner won the Senate seat he has held since 2009 and will return for a fourth term. The next milestones are the completion of the state count and certification in Virginia, alongside the calls in other states that will determine how the Senate organizes for the next Congress.