Virginia state Sen. Phil Puckett resigning

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Phil Puckett is resigning from the state Senate and is now being considered for a high-level job with the GOP-controlled Virginia tobacco commission, state officials said Sunday. The resignation gives Republicans a one-seat advantage in the upper chamber in the middle of a bitter battle between the parties over Medicaid expansion.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office said in a statement Sunday that he was deeply disappointed by the resignation of a fellow Democrat and the uncertainty that creates around expanding Medicaid. A Democratically controlled Senate had given McAuliffe helpful leverage against the Republican-controlled House of Delegates in his push to expand the health care program for the poor.