One key factor that enabled Democrats to take control of both houses of the Virginia legislature:
Voter turnout up among young voters
High youth turnout propelled Democrats to victory on Tuesday, giving them control of state government for the first time in a generation. Voter turnout rates at college precincts and amongst millennials increased by 91% this election, almost doubling the 2015 turnout for the same demographics, according to a CNS analysis of voter precinct results.
“Gen Z matters,” said Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University. Bitecofer called Gen Z voters, the generation of people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, “really instrumental,” as they increasingly become eligible to vote.
In 2015, 10,213 voters in majority millennial precincts and 6,031 voters at college precincts cast votes. A precinct is considered to have a millennial majority when more than 60% of voters are age 40 and under; for example precincts in the Richmond, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia areas.
On Tuesday, 21,260 millennials and 11,539 voters at college precincts cast votes. ...
One non-partisan, non-profit, tax-exempt group working to get students to turn out in VA and elsewhere: Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP). They are currently working in 17 states and hope to expand to 24 states in 2020.