Former governor Terry McAuliffe will again be Virginia Democrats’ nominee for governor, according to the Virginia Public Access Project which called the race on Tuesday evening. Incomplete unofficial results showed McAuliffe soundly beating all four of his challengers.
“Congratulations @TerryMcAuliffe on winning the Democratic gubernatorial nomination! Not only does Terry have a bold vision to continue the progress Democrats have made, he knows how to get it done. Let’s keep Virginia blue,” the Democratic Party of Virginia tweeted on Tuesday evening.
Democratic Governors Association Chair New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement, “Terry is a proven leader with a track record of delivering results for Virginians. Throughout his time as governor, Terry implemented bold initiatives to create good-paying jobs and expand economic opportunity across the Commonwealth.”
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) quickly released its own statement: “The contrast between career politician and establishment insider Terry McAuliffe and successful businessman and political outsider Glenn Youngkin is stark,” RGA Executive Director Dave Rexrode said. “The stench of corruption follows McAuliffe wherever he goes, and voters across the Commonwealth are looking for fresh leadership after nearly a decade of failures from the McAuliffe-Northam regime.”
VPAP also called the Attorney General nomination race for two-term incumbent Mark Herring, who was leading challenger Delegate Jay Jones (D-Norfolk) 57.12 percent to 42.88 percent at the time of reporting. VPAP called the lieutenant governor nomination for Delegate Hala Ayala (D-Prince William). At the time of this reporting, Ayala was leading Delegate Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke) 38.27 percent to 26.07 percent.
Some House of Delegates incumbents from both parties were defeated by primary challengers.
In his race to keep his House of Delegates seat, gubernatorial candidate Delegate Lee Carter (D-Manassas) lost to challenger Michelle Maldonado. With all precincts reporting, Maldonado won 44.06 percent of votes to Carter’s 38.37 percent.
Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William), who dropped out of the race for lieutenant governor early, defeated challenger Rod Hall, with 53.77 percent of votes to Hall’s 35.63 percent.
Although Jones (D-Norfolk) was also running for the attorney general nomination, he fought off primary challenger Hannah Kinder easily, earning 78.08 percent of votes.
In the GOP House races, VPAP called District 9 for Wren Williams, defeating incumbent Delegate Charles Poindexter 62.81 percent to 47.19 percent with all precincts reporting.
District 83 was a nail-biter — at the time of reporting, one precinct was left to count, and lawyer Tim Anderson had a 28-vote lead over former Delegate Chris Stolle.
In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Thomas Norment (R-James City) reacted to the Democratic primary results. “Taking their enthusiasm for recycling to a new extreme, Democrats are offering Virginians two-thirds of their 2013 ticket, hoping voters will see it as ‘new and improved.’ Virginians are a lot smarter than the Democrats think.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Hala Ayala” by Hala Ayala. Background Photo “Virginia Capitol” by Martin Kraft. CC BY-SA 3.0.
