by Morgan Sweeney
Tuesday’s primaries in Virginia saw two hotly contested Republican Senate races, and five that were won by a substantial margin after the most recent redistricting scrambled seats.
Former state Sen. Glen Sturtevant eked out a victory over Sen. Amanda Chase, the incumbent of the 11th district, which was redistricted to what is now the commonwealth’s 12th Senate district. Newcomer Nikki Baldwin ran for the 29th district in her first race for public office while battling it out with Maria Martin, who competed unsuccessfully in 2019 against Democrat Luke Torian for Delegate district 52, in her second race for public office.
Sturtevant (pictured above, left) defeated Chase 39-38%, and Martin (pictured above, right) is currently holding razor-thin lead over Baldwin by a mere fraction of a point.
Sturtevant encouraged constituents to vote throughout the day yesterday via Twitter. Recently, he posted a reminder of his platform. “I’m running to support Governor Youngkin’s agenda, cut taxes, [and] get the politics out of our kids’ schools, but I need your vote to do that!”
In a campaign video, Martin shared the perspective she brings to the seat.
“I see America through the eyes of an immigrant,” she said. “I greatly value the freedom of speech, of religion, of the press, and the God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I am running to defend that freedom that has always defined America.”
In the other races, Del. Tara Durant routed challenger Matt Strickland 57-43% for district 27. Christie New Craig handily beat Del. Tim Anderson 38-33% for district 19. Timmy French bested Dave LaRock 36-24%; Emily Brewer beat Herman Sadler III by 18%, and Bill Woolf III drubbed Robert Ruffolo winning 70% of the vote to Ruffolo’s 30%.
– – –
Morgan Sweeney is a staff writer covering Virginia and Maryland for The Center Square. Morgan was an active member of the journalism program as an undergraduate at Hillsdale College and previously freelanced for The Center Square.
Photo “Glen Sturtevant” by Glen Sturtevant. Photo “Maria Martin” by Maria Martin. Background Photo “Voting Booths” by Tim Evanson. CC BY-SA 2.0.
