WASHINGTON — While Democrats hope to expand Medicaid to more Virginia residents, they face extremely long odds in the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

But that didn’t stop an emotional plea from a Northern Virginia delegate at the start of the special session on Thursday.

“It was 12 o’clock at night, and I was lying in bed sleeping,” recalled Michael Futrell, whose daughter was born eight weeks ago, eight weeks early. “[My wife] hit me and she said