A Republican running in a Virginia special election significantly outperformed expectations Tuesday night, sparking chatter on social media that Republicans could have momentum in the blue-trending state where Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has faced backlash for her progressive agenda since taking office. 

In the race to replace Republican Virginia House District 98 Delegate Barry Knight, who died of cancer last month, Andrew Rice defeated Democrat Cheryl Smith by 25 points in a climate where voters in the commonwealth have been turning to Democrats in recent elections.

Conservatives on social media were quick to point out that Rice, who, despite holding onto a Republican seat, outperformed the candidate for Republican governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, in November and outperformed President Donald Trump’s 2024 total by 10 points, sparking belief in possible GOP momentum and backlash toward Spanberger.

«Republican Andrew Rice is currently ahead +29 in a district that was Sears +7 in November,» conservative commentator Greg Price posted on X. «A 22 point swing to the GOP.»

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«Radical Dems are overreaching in Virginia & voters have noticed,» Republican Virginia House of Delegates member Tim Griffin posted on X. «Big REPUBLICAN WIN in Virginia tonight, congrats Delegate-Elect Rice!»

«The momentum is REAL, and Virginians are paying attention and are fed up with the progressive liberal agenda trying to take over our Commonwealth,» Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans posted on X.

«Whoa!» Kerry Dougherty, co-host of a Virginia Beach radio show and longtime journalist, posted on X. «This is a red district but looks like backlash against our insane governor and the left-wing nuts in the General Assembly. Congratulations to Andrew Rice. A determined prosecutor (which will make the lefties crazy).»

VIRGINIA DEMS SEND SWEEPING GUN BAN TO SPANBERGER AS WEST VIRGINIA WEIGHS EXPANDING MACHINE-GUN ACCESS

The Virginia Capitol during the inauguration ceremony of Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger in Richmond Jan. 17, 2026. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via Getty Images)

Also at play is what Virginia elections analyst Sam Shirazi called the «elephant in the room» on his «Federal Fallout» podcast.

«I think one explanation of what happened is the Republicans are fired up, and they’re upset about the redistricting referendum,» Shirzi said about Rice’s victory and a possible connection to an April referendum that would trigger a mid-cycle redrawing of the state’s congressional map to heavily favor Democrats.

«Potentially, they could also be generally upset at what’s been going on in Richmond since the Democrats took over in January. So, perhaps they’re upset with some of the bills that have been passed.»

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Former President Obama and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. (Win McNamee/Getty)

Reacting to Rice’s victory, Republican Virginia Delegate Karen Hamilton posted on X, «If we could get some funds, we can win this redistricting fight in Virginia and secure the midterms for @POTUS.»

«Republicans in Virginia are overperforming so strongly that the gerrymander attempt is suddenly looking much riskier for Dems,» conservative commentator and writer Ben Braddock posted on X. 

Spanberger has faced some intense criticism from conservatives since taking office in January, particularly over the allegation she campaigned as a «moderate» candidate but quickly began implementing a radical agenda as soon as she took office.

Since taking office, Spanberger has ended state cooperation with ICE, reduced mandatory minimum sentencing, raised taxes and prioritized DEI in government contracts, Fox News Digital reported in January.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger’s office for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

Iran’s potentially most dangerous nuclear site is buried as deep as 100 meters below a granite mountain, according to new assessments, and one nonproliferation expert warned it must be «neutralized» before the U.S. war with Iran ends.

This came as new figures released Wednesday by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) show that U.S. and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury in late February and have since struck more than 7,800 targets in Iran as the conflict enters Day 18.

«Before the United States and Israel end major combat operations against Iran, they must complete two urgent tasks,» Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a policy briefing.

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«First, they must neutralize Pickaxe Mountain. Second, they must recover or eliminate highly enriched uranium stocks to prevent them from falling into the hands of surviving regime elements, other adversarial states or terrorist proxies.»

High-resolution satellite imagery from mid-February shows Iran’s accelerated efforts to reinforce the site at Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, known as «Pickaxe Mountain,» against potential airstrikes, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.

«At one of the eastern tunnel entrances, rock and soil can be seen pushed back and leveled on top of the tunnel portal,» the institute’s report said.

«Additionally, over the last month, a concrete-reinforced headworks for the tunnel entrance extension was added. This allows for additional overburden in the form of rock, soil or concrete.»

STRIKES MAY SET IRAN BACK — BUT LIKELY WON’T END NUCLEAR PROGRAM, UN WATCHDOG CHIEF SAYS

A satellite image shows an overview of the Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex in Natanz. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)

The report added that «these efforts strengthen the tunnel portals and provide additional protection against an airstrike,» noting visible piles of construction materials near the entrances.

Preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon is one of President Donald Trump’s stated war aims. 

In June 2025, U.S. forces carried out strikes against nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Iran had roughly 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% as of June 2025, enough material, if further enriched to weapons-grade levels, for multiple nuclear weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Rafael Grossi, its director general, also said March 9 that the U.N. watchdog believes roughly 200 kilograms of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile are still stored in deep tunnels at a nuclear complex outside Isfahan.

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President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. launched strikes on Iran Feb. 28, 2026.  (The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Grossi added that additional quantities of highly enriched uranium are believed to be at another nuclear center in Natanz, where Iran has constructed a new fortified underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain.

On March 9, Trump pointed to Iran’s efforts to resume nuclear activity at a deeper site and said Tehran has continued pursuing a nuclear weapon «even after we obliterated their key nuclear sites.»

«They were starting work at another site, a different site … that was protected by granite. … They wanted to go a lot deeper, and they started the process,» Trump said, according to reports.

According to Stricker, the «different site» referenced by Trump is Pickaxe Mountain, where Iran has said it has been building a centrifuge assembly plant at the site since 2021. The site is a mile from its Natanz enrichment plant.

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«The size of the facility, as well as the protection provided by the tall mountain, raised immediate concerns about whether additional sensitive activities are planned, such as uranium enrichment,» the Institute for Science and International Security also noted in its report.

At the beginning of March, a vehicle was struck outside the site, presumably by Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported, before suggesting that the vehicle strike was evidence the U.S. and Israel are watching the mountain carefully.

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Rodrigo Chaves (último abajo), junto a Trump en el lanzamiento del Escudo de las Américas. Foto Reuters