Virginia House Democrats again fought in vain Monday to seat newly elected delegate Charniele Herring, whose razor-thin victory last week has led the Republican majority to block her from joining the legislature until a recount is finished.

The standoff over whether to seat Herring, a Democrat who defeated Republican Joe Murray in the Jan. 13 special election by 16 votes, has pitched the two caucuses into an early party-line spat that promises to continue until the recount, set for Monday.