The tiny lead that Democrat Lynwood Lewis held after last week’s special election for the 6th District Senate seat had narrowed even further by Friday, when the State Board of Elections certified the vote. Republican B. Wayne Coleman had captured a net 13 additional votes, narrowing the gap to only nine votes out of the 20,401 cast.

Lewis ended up with 10,201 votes, Coleman with 10,192 votes, and there were eight write-ins.

The election was held to determine who would succeed former state Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk), who took his seat as Virginia’s lieutenant governor after an inauguration ceremony on Saturday. Mathews County is part of that senatorial district, which also includes parts of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, and the Eastern Shore.

According to the Virginia Board of Elections, only an apparent losing candidate can ask for a recount, and only if the difference between the apparent winning candidate and apparent losing candidates...