Early voting in Virginia began just last week, but the first wave of ballots already shows Republican-leaning House of Delegates districts pulling ahead of their Democratic counterparts.

Of the 20 districts with the highest number of ballots cast so far, 11 are strongly Republican or lean Republican, five are strongly Democratic, and four are competitive, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.

In total, 35,224 votes had been cast statewide as of Monday, nearly all of them in person. Fewer than 1,000 ballots were cast by mail. And while Virginia does not register voters by party, the early figures could be a sign of stronger Republican enthusiasm heading into a pivotal election year.

Republican leaders said the numbers reflect a deliberate strat

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