An historic jump in small donations drove a wave of Democratic victories in Virginia’s House of Delegates in November, according to a new analysis.

Democratic House candidates received 153,422 contributions of $100 or less in the 2017 elections, compared to 7,332 such gifts for Republicans, the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project found by analyzing official data.

Danica Roem, delegate-elect in Virginia’s 13th House district and the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker, picked up nearly 18,000 small donations ― more than the entire Republican total of such contributions.

The record-breaking small-donor haul dramatically widened a gap between Democrats and Republicans that had been growing in the past few elections. For example, Democratic House candidates received 14,351 small donations in 2009, compared with 12,918 for Republicans, according to VPAP.

Of course, both major parties remain heavily dependent on larger contributions. […]