Predicting the outcome of today's special election in SD 7 is precarious because this portion of Virginia Beach (with three Norfolk precincts) has veered between Republican and Democratic control in five elections since 2016.

Methodology: There are no official published election results for SD7, except in contests specifically for that office. The preference of SD7's voters in other elections (such as for President, Congress and Governor) can be calculated by adding together the results from precincts that make up SD7. Those numbers are imprecise, however, because until last year there was no way to account for early votes. Below is the methodology for estimating each election:

• 2022 - Complete precinct results, including early votes cast by precinct
• 2021 - In-person election day results by precinct, plus VPAP formula for calculating estimate of early votes
• 2019 - Official election results
• 2017 - In-person election day results by precinct (excludes all early votes)
• 2016 - In-person election day results by precinct (excludes all early votes)