by Sarah Roderick-Fitch
With his Republican opponent still to be determined, Democratic State Sen. Jeremy McPike is a winner in Virginia’s District 29, accepting a concession on Sunday from Del. Elizabeth Guzman.
The Republican race from last Tuesday remains too close to call. In the most recent announced tabulation, only two votes separate candidates Nikki Rattray Baldwin, the leader, and Maria Martin.
McPike secured the Democratic nomination by 53 votes over Guzman, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. After all the mail-in ballots were accounted for, only a 0.5% margin separated the two candidates, which could have qualified for a recount. Guzman declined the recount, instead thanking her supporters and asking them to get behind McPike.
“Thank you SD-29, we did it! It has been a honor of a lifetime to serve the community I grew up in, I’m grateful I get to continue to do so. Thank you [Elizabeth Guzman] for a spirited primary, and your work in the general assembly,” McPike said in a tweet.
In her tweet, Guzman wrote, “I ask the 6k+ voters who supported me to back [Jeremy McPike] in Nov.”
The GOP candidates await final provisional ballots tallies. There is no indication yet if either candidate will opt for the state-funded recount once all votes are counted.
– – –
Sarah Roderick-Fitch is a regional editor at The Center Square.
Photo “Jeremy McPike” by Jeremy McPike.
