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Mark Warner Wins Third Term in U.S. Senate

Michael Pope

U.S. Senator Mark Warner has declared victory in his re-election bid.

Six years ago, Mark Warner barely hung on in a nail-biting finish against Republican Ed Gillespie. That was then. This time the victory against Republican Daniel Gade was called by the Associated Press just minutes after the polls closed. Warner says despite his victory, he's concerned about facing the threat of the pandemic.

"The only way we're going to be able to defeat that and truly build back better is if Americans become united," he explains. "That means ending the kind of attack rhetoric and mean-spiritedness that too often has infected our political discourse."

Former Republican Delegate David Ramadan is now at George Mason University's Schar School, and he says Warner's victory shows Virginia Republicans have some work to do.

"They have to denounce Trumpism," says Ramadan. "They have to denounce white supremacy and go back to the basics of conservative principles versus winking at white supremacy and nationalism."

Warner heads into his third term in a leadership position on the Intelligence Committee, an institution he says has retained a bipartisan tone despite an increasingly partisan shift across the Capital.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.