UPDATE 9:50 pm: See below for Jennifer Wexton’s victory speech, as well as a speech by Sen. Tim Kaine.
UPDATE 9:35 pm – See below for Corey’s raucous, nasty, crazy, vicious victory speech.
UPDATE 9:09 pm – On the Democratic side, at the federal level, it has definitely been the “Year of the Woman” so far here in Virginia, with women winning in VA-01 (over two men), VA-02 (over another woman), VA-05 (Leslie Cockburn EASILY over three men), VA-06 (Jennifer Lewis EASILY over two men and a woman), VA-07 (Abigail Spanberger in a landslide over Dan Ward), and VA-10 (Jennifer Wexton by a big margin over two women – Alison Friedman and Lindsey Davis Stover – with Dan Helmer in 4th place).
UPDATE 9:04 pm – I’m really looking forward to helping Sen. Tim Kaine CRUSH neo-Confederate, xenophobe, etc. Corey Stewart, who has won the VA GOP U.S. Senate nomination over Nick Freitas tonight. With 2,524/2,569 precincts reporting, it’s now Stewart 133,767 (44.82%) – Freitas 128,637 (43.10%). LOL
UPDATE 9:01 pm – In Alexandria, Vice Mayor Justin Wilson has defeated Mayor Alison Silberberg; with 28/29 precincts reporting, it’s Wilson 10,737 (53%)-Silberberg 9,665 (47%). For City Council, the top six are: 1) Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker (13,049 votes); 2) John Taylor Chapman (11,448); 3) Mo Seifeldein (8,974); 4) Del Pepper (8,576); 5) Canek Aguirre (8,561) and 6) Amy Jackson (8,403). Glad to see all my endorsed candidates win, other than Willie Bailey (bummer).
UPDATE 8:59 pm – With 2,505/2,569 precincts now reporting, Corey Stewart continues to pull further ahead, now up 132,295 (44.8%)-127,494 (43.2%), which over a 1-percentage-point lead (could be important for recount purposes).
UPDATE 8:51 pm – And with 2,483/2,569 precincts now reporting, Corey Stewart pulls further ahead of Nick Freitas (131,392-126,702). Gonna be super tough for Freitas to catch him now. Bad news for the VA GOP to have a divisive, nasty, neo-Confederate, etc. as their U.S. Senate nominee, if that’s how this turns out. Sad! LOL
UPDATE 8:47 pm – With 2,446/2,569 precincts reporting, it’s now Corey Stewart edging ahead of Nick Freitas a bit further; currently, it’s 127,639-124,777. Still nothing from Roanoke County and a bunch more remaining in Fairfax County, where Stewart has the advantage.
UPDATE 8:42 pm – With 23/29 precincts reporting in Alexandria, Justin Wilson leads Alison Silberberg 7,569-7,177. For City Council, right now it’s looking like Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (9,277), John Taylor Chapman (8,215), Mo Seifeldein (6,456), Del Pepper (6,295), Canek Aguirre (6,204) and Amy Jackson (6,188). Very close behind is Willie Bailey (5,812).
UPDATE 8:40 pm – With 2,404/2,569 precincts reporting, Corey Stewart is now ahead 123,487-122,042.
UPDATE 8:36 pm – With 2,382/2,569 precincts reporting, Corey Stewart is just a tiny bit further ahead of Nick Freitas: 121,534-120,687. Freitas might gain a bit in Alexandria, Cville and Virginai Beach; Stewart could gain in Fairfax County and maybe Hampton City. We’ll see about Roanoke County!
UPDATE 8:34 pm – With 2,355/2,569 precincts reporting, Corey Stewart just pulled ahead of Nick Freitas by a 119,525-118,853 margin. With a bunch of Fairfax County (where Corey is leading) still outstanding, I think he might pull this out. But it’s too close to call..
UPDATE 8:27 pm – With 2,302/2,569 precincts reporting, it’s now Freitas 115,843-Stewart 115,739. This could come down to Fairfax County.
UPDATE 8:25 pm – Super close race for the VA GOP U.S. Senate nomination. with 2,262/2,569 precincts reporting, it’s Nick Freitas 113,899-Corey Stewart 113,587.
UPDATE 8:22 pm – Just to wrap up the Democratic House side – congratulations to VA-01 Democratic nominee Vangie Williams; VA-02 Dem nominee Elaine Luria; VA-06 Dem nominee Jennifer Lewis; VA-07 Dem nominee Abigail Spanberger; VA-09 Dem nominee Anthony Flaccavento; and VA-10 Dem nominee Jennifer Wexton!
UPDATE 8:20 pm – I’m told that Justin Wilson is up 7,204-6,337 in the Alexandria Mayor race, with just 8 precincts plus absentees remaining. If so, that will be tough for Alison Silberberg to make up!
UPDATE 8:13 pm – In Alexandria, it’s great to see the candidates I endorsed for City Council doing well. In particular, Elizabeth Bennett-Parker is way ahead, at 6,146 votes, with 16/29 precincts reporting. John Taylor Chapman, who I also endorsed, is in second place, with 5,381 votes. Then it gets closer, with Mo Seifeldein (who I also endorsed) in third place with 4,159 votes; Amy Jackson (who I didn’t endorse) in fourth place with 4,101 votes; Del Pepper (who I endorsed) in fifth place with 4,062 votes; and Canek Aguirre (who I endorsed) in sixth place with 4,037 votes.
UPDATE 8:11 pm – In VA-06, Jennifer Lewis has now broken 50% of the vote in a four-way field, with 155/244 precincts reporting. This one is over; congratulations to Jennifer Lewis on what appears will be a big win!
UPDATE 8:07 pm – The VA-01 Dem nomination, with 73% of precincts reporting, looks like it is going to Vangie Williams (8,140 votes) over Edwin Santana (5,870 votes) and John Suddarth (5,356 votes). We’ll hold off a bit longer before calling this one, but it’s hard to see how either Santana or Suddarth can catch Williams at this point.
UPDATE 8:04 pm – With 1,881/2,569 precincts reporting, it’s now Freitas 94,139-Stewart 88,182-Jackson 24,961. Still only 1/92 precincts reporting from Stewart’s home county (Prince William), though. Also still a lot to go from Fairfax County, where Stewart is leading Freitas. So we’ll see…
UPDATE 8:01 pm – With 168/244 precincts reporting in the VA-01 Dem primary, it’s increasingly looking like Vangie Williams will be the nominee; she leads Edwin Santana and John Suddarth 7,795-5,755-5,188. Also, in VA-06, Jennifer Lewis is leading Peter Volosin 3,217-2,098 (the other two candidates, Charlotte Moore and Sergio Coppola, are at 1,153 and 400 votes, respectively), with 99/244 precincts reporting. Looking good for Lewis!
UPDATE 7:57 pm – Congratulations to VA-02 Democratic (presumptive) nominee Elaine Luria, who now leads Karen Mallard 14,008-8,306 with 140/181 precincts reporting. Also, congratulations to Anthony Flaccavento in VA-09 – take it to Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-climate science denial, etc.)
UPDATE 7:55 pm – With 1,635/2,569 precincts reporting, it’s looking like Nick Freitas is pulling away from Corey Stewart somewhat, as he now leads 82,297-75,972. So much for Stewart being Donald Trump Part Deux? LOL
UPDATE 7:51 pm – Congratulations to Arlington County Board Democratic presumptive nominee Matt de Ferranti, who leads 61%-39% with 76% of precincts reporting. In Alexandria, it’s neck-and-neck between Alison Silberberg (2,352) and Justin Wilson (2,307) with 8/29 precincts reporting. For City Council, Elizabeth Bennett Parker is in first place at the moment, with 2,818 votes, followed by John Taylor Chapman (2,436 votes), Mo Seifeldein (2,047 votes), Matt Feely (1,936 votes), Del Pepper (1,924 votes), Amy Jackson (1,804 votes), Canek Aguirre (1,808 votes) and Willie Bailey (1,737 votes).
UPDATE 7:46 pm – With 109/211 precincts reporting in VA-10, Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) appears to be heading to victory, as she leads Shak Hill 62%-38%. With 1,474/2,569 precincts reporting in the VA GOP U.S. Senate primary, it’s now Freitas 73,422-Stewart 68,377. Could Freitas actually pull this off? So much for PredictIt if that happens! LOL As for VA-02, Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA02) has easily wrapped that one up. And Ryan McAdams will be the GOP nominee to get annihilated by Rep. Donald McEachin (D) in VA-04.
UPDATE 7:43 pm – With 127/228 precincts reporting in VA-07, Abigail Spanberger is demolishing Dan Ward 74%-26%. This one’s over. Congratulations to Abigail Spanberger, now take it to the godawful Dave Brat!!!
UPDATE 7:40 pm – With 28/55 precincts reporting in Arlington, Matt de Ferranti is winning the Democratic nomination for County Board easily (62%-38%) over Chanda Choun. In Alexandria, Alison Silberberg is leading Justin Wilson 1,673-1,455 with 5/29 precincts reporting.
UPDATE 7:38 pm – With 1,132/2,569 precincts reporting, it’s now Freitas 58,617-Stewart 54,484. Still almost nothing from Stewart’s home county of Prince William…
UPDATE 7:37 pm – Huge slug of votes just came through in VA-10, and it’s now Wexton 46.3%-Friedman 23.4%-Helmer 12.2%-Stover 11.9%-Pelletier 3.2%-Biggins 3.0% with 109/211 precincts reporting. Looks like Wexton’s got this one easily.
UPDATE 7:33 pm – With 72/244 precincts reporting in the VA-01 Dem primary, it’s now Williams 3,430-Santana 2,559-Suddarth 2,274. With 78/181 precincts reporting in the VA-02 Dem primary, Elaine Luria continues to lead by a big margin (8,704-5,253) over Karen Mallard. In VA-07, with 44/228 precincts reporting, Spanberger is defeating Ward handily (71%-29%). And in VA-09, Flaccavento is winning “bigly” (78%-22%).
UPDATE 7:30 pm – In the VA-04 GOP House primary, Ryan McAdams is winning easily (2,319-835) over Shion Fenty with 36/263 precincts reporting. In the VA-10 GOP House primary, with only 9/211 precincts reporting so far, it’s Rep. Barbara Comstock leading Shak Hill 853-610.
UPDATE 7:27 pm – With 509/2,569 precincts reporting in the GOP U.S. Senate primary, it’s now Freitas 24,937-Stewart 23,291. Wild!
UPDATE 7:24 pm – With 294/2,569 precincts reporting in the GOP U.S. Senate primary, it’s now Freitas 12,606-Stewart 12,053-Jackson 3,257. Rep. Scott Taylor (R) appears to be cruising over his far-right opponent, Mary Jones, in VA-02.
UPDATE 7:22 pm – With 30/244 precincts reporting in the VA-01 Dem primary, it’s a close race between Vangie Williams (1,278 votes), Edwin Santana (1,135 votes) and John Suddarth (984 votes). In VA-02, Elaine Luria is off to a big lead (1,697-864) over Karen Mallard with 15/181 precincts reporting. And in VA-06, Jennifer Lewis has a big lead (458 votes) over Peter Volosin (142 votes) and Charlotte Moore (118 votes) with 15/244 precincts reporting.
UPDATE 7:18 pm – With 9/228 precincts reporting in VA-07, Abigail Spanberger is off to a big lead (1,563-479) over Dan Ward in the Dem primary there. In VA-09, Anthony Flaccavento is off to a big lead (587-157) over Justin Santopietro with 24/365 precincts reporting in the VA-09 Dem primary.
UPDATE 7:16 pm – Stewart now ahead by 12 votes (5,675-5,663) with 153/2,569 precincts reporting.
UPDATE 7:14 pm – Nick Freitas off to a VERY early, and small, lead over Corey Stewart (with 40 precincts reporting out of 2,569, it’s Freitas 1,621-Stewart 1,479).
It’s 7 pm, and polls are now closed in Virginia. In this live blog of the election returns, I’ll primarily be checking the State Board of Elections website, VPAP and the Fairfax County Board of Elections site, among other sources. Feel free to use the comments section of this post to report what you’re hearing. The top-ten races I’ll be closely watching are, in roughly the following order:
1) the Virginia GOP U.S. Senate primary between Corey Stewart and Nick Freitas (I’m assuming that EW Jackson will finish a distant third);
2) the VA-10 Democratic primary for U.S. Congress (I’m assuming Jennifer Wexton will win, but we’ll see by what margin and who if anyone – Dan Helmer? Alison Friedman? Lindsey Davis Stover? – makes a run at her);
3) the VA-02 Democratic primary for U.S. Congress (DCCC pick Elaine Luria is the favorite, but we’ll see if Karen Mallard can pull an upset, despite being heavily outspent);
4) the VA-07 Democratic primary for U.S. Congress (I’m assuming Abigail Spanberger will win in this “year of the woman”);
5) the VA-01 Democratic primary for U.S. Congress (I’m an Edwin Santana supporter, but honestly not sure who will win this one);
6) the VA-10 GOP primary for U.S. Congress (I assume Rep. Barbara Comstock will win, but we’ll see how close Shak Hill gets);
7) the VA-06 Democratic primary for U.S. Congress (I believe that Jennifer Lewis is the favorite over Peter Volosin and possibly Charlotte Moore, but we’ll see shortly…);
8) the Alexandria Mayoral (Allison Silberberg vs. Justin Wilson) and City Council races, which will basically determine the winners in November in this overwhelmingly Democratic city;
9) the Arlington County Board Democratic primary (I support Matt de Ferranti and assume he’ll win the nomination over Chanda Choun);
10) the VA-09 Democratic primary for U.S. Congress (I assume Anthony Flaccavento will defeat Justin Santopietro for the nomination).
I’m also very interested in what turnout will look like today. For comparison purposes, turnout in the gubernatorial primaries last year was: 543k for the Dems, 366k for the Republicans. I’m hoping that Democratic turnout will be strong, but keep in mind that Republicans have a U.S. Senate primary, while Democrats do not, so that might skew the Republican turnout number higher.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
