Less than three percent of registered voters cast ballots, but Virginia Democrats selected two state lawmakers as their nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general in yesterday’s primary election.
Most of the Republican and Democratic incumbents running in 11 House of Delegates districts won their parties’ nominations, although there were two surprising upsets. Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan has more details.
Legislative experience won in the statewide nominations. In the Lieutenant Governor’s race, Norfolk Senator Ralph Northam took 54 percent of the vote against former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra. Northam says the upcoming campaign should not focus on social issues.
“We need to be up here and address the things that are important to Virginia: education, healthcare, transportation, the environment—things that are going to improve our economy and, again, head us in a positive direction.”
For Attorney General, Loudoun Senator Mark Herring edged out former federal prosecutor Justin Fairfax with nearly 52 percent of the vote. Herring says he has a lot of experience fighting for Virginia values.
“So I’ve been fighting for these issues for a long time. And people can trust that when I’m elected, I’ll continue to fight for those same issues. So they know where I stand and they can trust me from day one to be able to step in and do the job.”
Two Democratic House incumbents won, as did three Republican incumbents, including House Speaker Bill Howell. But two GOP veterans, Loudoun Delegate Joe May and Frederick Delegate Beverly Sherwood, lost to challengers who opposed them for supporting the new transportation-funding law.