Update: The Virginia State Board of Elections is now reporting that Connolly is leading by 925 votes.

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Update: With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) holds an 820 vote lead over Republican challenger Keith Fimian in Virginia’s 11th congressional district. There are several hundred provisional ballots still to be counted, which could take until the end of the week.

The state board of elections has to certify the results, which Fimian can challenge if the margin is less than 1 percent of the vote.

ORIGINAL STORY

And then the bellwether was too close to call. Even though Gerry Connolly didn't seem to think so.

Despite weeks of negative television ads, millions in out-of-state money and a months-long campaign, voters in Virginia’s 11th congressional district were unable to reach a consensus on whether they should send first-term U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly back to the House of Representatives. Late Tuesday night, his contest with Keith Fimian seemed headed toward an inevitable recount.

Election officials said they had yet to count 26,000 absentee ballots Tuesday night, but later reversed themselves and said the ballots had already been included in the totals, which Connolly led 49.11 percent to 48.90 percent with 98 percent of the precincts reporting. The candidates were separated by less than 500 votes. An unknown number of provisional ballots will be counted tomorrow at 9 a.m. at Fairfax Government Center. There was also two malfunctioning voting machines reported in the county — those votes will be counted tomorrow at 7 a.m.

Still, Connolly late Tuesday gave what seemed to be an acceptance speech at his campaign party, calling serving the 11th congressional district a "great
privilege," and adding, "I hope you will find me worthy of that honor and
accept my deep gratitude to continue to be able to serve this public
for another two years."

Connolly faced a strong challenge from small businessman Keith Fimian, who rode a national conservative wave and had the backing of the Tea Party for his second attempt at the seat. Fimian lost to Connolly, a former Fairfax County supervisor, in 2008.

Fimian, in a speech at his campaign party, didn't address the close vote at all, instead talking about the new Congress to come in general. "I hope and pray that the new Congress will work tirelessly to get government off the backs of the American people and free their creative genius over and over again."

The Connolly campaign said it had encouraged its supporters to vote absentee and they expect to have the edge. Still, the race could be headed to recount territory. If Connoly's margin of victory is less than 1 percent, Fimian can request a recount.

Fimian relentlessly used the standard Republican message of this election cycle, focusing on unemployment, the national deficit and associating Connolly with unpopular House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Connolly, on the other hand, used the same message that won him the seat in with in 2008, arguing that Fimian’s views on social issues were out of step with this stereotypical suburban district. The Republican believes abortion should be illegal in all instances, opposes D.C. voting rights and has conservative views on gun control.

That last position got Fimian in trouble in the final days of the campaign after he told an interview the Virginia Tech massacre could have been prevented if one students was “packing heat.” Fimian apologized for the awkward remark, but Connolly still attacked him for it. A third-party group aired an ad featuring the sibling of a Virginia Tech victim.

The race attracted boatloads of national interest and cash — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $1 million on the race, and the conservative American Action Network ran ads attacking Connolly. Republicans were downbeat about losing an election multiple national media outlets — Newsweek, NPR, NBC —  had pointed to as a bellwether for the size of the conservative wave.