Though he lost Virginia by just over 180,000 votes, President-elect Donald Trump swept Gloucester and Mathews counties on Election Day Tuesday, helping to pave the way for his national victory, which was announced during the wee hours of the morning Wednesday.

Nationally, Trump won 276 electoral votes, compared to 218 for his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Voter turnout in both counties averaged the same in Gloucester and even better in Mathews than the last presidential election in 2012, and registrars in both counties reported no major issues at the polls.

Trump captured 67 percent of the vote in Gloucester and 66 percent of the Mathews vote. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton received 28 percent of the vote in Gloucester and 29 percent of the vote in Mathews. Third-party candidates Gary Johnson (Libertarian), Jill Stein (Green) and Evan McMullin (independent) received less than 6 percent of the vote in both counties.

In the race for the 1st District representative of the ...