2026 Senate forecastThe Upper Chamber

← All 35 races

VA · Senate 2026 · Updated Aug 27, 2026, 2:03 a.m. ET

Virginia

Rated Solid D

Mark Warner wins this seat in 95 in 100 simulations. Call it all but certain.

  • Portrait of Mark WarnerMark WarnerDIncumbent95 in 100
  • Portrait of Bert MizusawaBert MizusawaR5 in 100

Over time

How the forecast has moved

0255075100AprJulOctJan ’26AprJulD 95 in 100R 5 in 100Aug 27, 2026
Chance in 100 the seat goes to each side: blue for the Democratic caucus, red for the Republicans · one point per day · hover or tap to read the lines

The margin

How close it lands

Each simulation produces a final margin. The curve shows where those margins fall; the tinted areas on either side of even are the futures each party wins.

EvenD +16.0
Bert Mizusawa aheadMark Warner ahead →
Where the simulated margins land · marker at the average margin

Under the hood

What's driving the number

The forecast blends a weighted poll average with a fundamentals model: the state's partisan lean, incumbency, the national environment, and fundraising. Positive points favor the Democratic side of the margin; negative favor the Republican side.

  • Partisan leanD +6.9
  • IncumbencyD +2.5
  • National environmentD +5.1
  • FundraisingD +1.5
  • Fundamentals sayD +15.9
  • Blended forecast marginD +16.0

With no usable polling, the forecast rests entirely on the fundamentals.

The markets

What the betting markets say

Prediction markets put a price on this seat too: what people are paying for a contract that pays out if Mark Warner wins, read as an implied probability. Shown for comparison only. This is not betting advice, and market prices never feed the model.

  • Mark Warner winsThis forecast95 in 100
  • Mark Warner winsKalshi97 in 100
  • Mark Warner winsPolymarket95 in 100

Market prices as of Aug 27, 2026, 2:03 a.m. ET

The evidence

The polls, as the model sees them

Every public poll of this race, with the weight the model gave it in the latest run. Weights reward recency, sample size, and pollster track record; the house adjustment corrects each pollster's habitual lean before averaging.

PollDatesSampleD–RMarginHouse adj.Weight
The Public Sentiment InstituteJun 12–16996 LV51–33D +18.095%
The Public Sentiment Institute/ Virginia Project (R)May 1–51,047 LV55–29D +26.05%

How the weights, the blend, and the simulation work is spelled out on the methodology page.