RICHMOND — Elections officials in Virginia Beach began scanning and reviewing ballots Thursday in a recount of a razor-thin House of Delegates race, one of two that could affect the balance of power in the General Assembly.

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       Incumbent Del. Alex Askew (D) trails Republican Karen Greenhalgh in the certified results of the Nov. 2 election by 127 votes out of 28,442 votes cast. That’s less than 0.5 percent, which under Virginia law allows the runner-up to request a recount at public expense.

       Two Virginia House races appear headed to recounts

       Republicans surged to a 52-48 majority in the House during the election, overturning a two-year Democratic majority on the coattails of a GOP sweep of statewide races spearheaded by Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin.

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       Youngkin and his ticket-mates — Lt. Gov.-elect Winsome E. Sears and Attorney General-elect Jason S. Miyares — won by less than 2 points, and the House of Delegates is teetering on a similarly narrow margin.

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       A second recount will get underway Tuesday in Hampton, where incumbent Del. Martha M. Mugler (D) trails Republican A.C. Cordoza in the certified results by 94 votes out of 27,836 votes cast.

       The state Board of Elections certified the results of the Nov. 2 election last month, which allowed Democrats to formally request the recounts.

       Republicans end Democratic control of Virginia House of Delegates

       If Democrats were to prevail in both recounts, the House would wind up split 50-50 and lawmakers of both major parties would have to hammer out a power-sharing agreement.

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       The state Senate is already narrowly controlled by Democrats, 21-19. Senators serve four-year terms, with their next election slated for 2023.

       Askew and Mugler are both first-term delegates who won in the massive Democratic wave of 2019, which saw the party take control of the House for the first time in a generation.

       Once the Askew-Greenhalgh results are recounted Thursday, a panel of three Circuit Court judges will consider any contested ballots on Friday and likely determine a final result. The Mugler-Cordoza recount will follow a similar schedule on Tuesday and Wednesday.