![]() Morrissey, who supports some access to abortion earlier in a pregnancy, had been seen as a possible swing vote on Youngkin’s proposed 15-week abortion ban. Wade.Īird centered Morrissey’s position on the issue - rather than his long history of personal controversy - in her campaign and resoundingly beat him. Lawmakers also noted some of the likely new members will add to the diversity of the General Assembly, which has grown in recent election cycles.Ībortion rights advocates say Lashrecse Aird’s defeat of Morrissey, a Democrat who previously sponsored a bill that would have restricted abortion access, is another electoral example of how the issue is motivating voters since the fall of Roe v. Creigh Deeds, a moderate who has shifted leftward in recent years on gun issues, defeated progressive challenger Sally Hudson. And in a Charlottesville-based seat, longtime incumbent Sen. ![]() Ibraheem Samirah, who criticized him for leading a caucus that included Republicans and aimed to increase bipartisanship. Suhas Subramanyam handily defeated former Del. They have been replaced with new nominees who would find like-minded comrades in the most liberal legislatures in the country,” Youngkin’s political action committee said in a memo Wednesday.īut there were notable exceptions to the trend: In northern Virginia, Del. “Gone are the reasonable Democrats who would put Virginia first. ![]() Republicans sought to cast the outcome as a sign of a party moving hard to the fringe. Scott Surovell said in a call with reporters. “While we’re going to miss some of our members who we’ve served alongside for years, we’re in a strong position to win the races necessary to protect and expand our majority in the Senate,” Sen. But none of the losses came in swing districts, where the candidates backed by caucus leadership prevailed in two key battleground races. If the primary winners in those races go on to prevail in the general election, where they will be heavily favored, observers say that will nudge the Democratic Senate caucus leftward. Petersen’s loss was considered the biggest upset - he outspent challenger Saddam Salim by a nearly 6-to-1 margin. Incumbents Joe Morrissey, George Barker, Lionell Spruill and Chap Petersen were all defeated, and a race involving a fifth - Jeremy McPike - was too close to call. Tucker Martin, a former longtime Republican strategist, said the outcomes showed voters were prioritizing “electability over entertainment value.” He expressed the widely held view that the GOP has an uphill climb to retake the Senate in the general election but said the party came out of the night in the “best possible posture.”ĭemocrats faced more primaries this cycle and ended up with more turnover, including the ouster of several of the Senate’s more moderate members. Dave LaRock, was considered a top contender in an open, eight-way Shenandoah Valley-based Senate seat, but he and the rest of the field were bested by farmer Timmy French, who centered agricultural and business issues and support for education and law enforcement in his campaign.Ī similar dynamic played out in nominations settled earlier through party-run processes. Amanda Chase, who called herself “Trump in heels.” She did not concede and said Wednesday she was “seeking legal counsel” to challenge the results. Emily Brewer defeated former NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler, who criticized her as excessively moderate, for the nomination in another competitive Senate seat.Īnd several of the candidates who had most loudly embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election were ousted, including Sen. Tara Durant defeated restaurateur Matt Strickland, who invoked the slogan “crush the establishment” in his race for the nomination in a competitive, red-leaning Fredericksburg-area Senate seat. In the 40-member Senate, for example, at least 15 members will be new.Īccording to an analysis by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, the number of state senators ousted Tuesday - five - equaled the number of all Senators who had lost a primary election since 1999.Īcross the state, voters in Republican races - including a handful of battleground districts - nominated candidates with a center-right or pragmatic approach over outsiders, firebrands and or far-right hardliners.ĭel. ![]()
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