By Brian Trompeter
Voters in the June 20 primary chose a raft of Democratic nominees for the November election – and kicked some incumbents to the curb in the process.
Here are the unofficial results of local races as of June 26:
• Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D) won the nomination over challenger Lisa Downing, but the primary results were not a runaway. McKay received 47,059 votes (56.3 percent) to Downing’s 36,525 votes (43.7 percent) and will face Republican candidate Arthur Purves in November.
• In the race for Dranesville District supervisor, Jimmy Bierman defeated David Fiske, receiving 6,114 votes (69.64 percent) to Fiske’s 2,666 votes (30.36 percent). Bierman, who had received the lion’s share of endorsements from Democratic officials in the race, will face Republican Puneet Ahluwalia in the fall election.
• Steve Descano, who is commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County and the city of Fairfax, fended off a challenge from Ed Nuttall, earning 49,284 votes (55.66 percent) to Nuttall’s 39,255 votes (44.34 percent). Descano does not have a Republican opponent yet in the fall election.
• Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid won the Democratic nomination by defeating challenger Kelvin Garcia. Kincaid received 64,251 votes (74.98 percent) to Garcia’s 21,436 votes (25.02 percent).
• Saddam Azlan Salim beat four-term incumbent state Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Vienna-Falls Church) in the new 37th Senate District, earning 7,525 votes (54.1 percent) to Petersen’s 6,384 votes (45.9 percent). Salim will square off against Republican nominee Ken Reid in November.
Three Fairfax County School Board members won Democratic nominations in races for General Assembly seats.
• Stella Pekarsky, who represents Sully District on the School Board, knocked off incumbent state Sen. George Barker (D-Alexandria) in the new 36th Senate District, earning 8,083 votes (52.47 percent) to Barker’s 7,322 votes (47.53 percent). Pekarsky’s Republican opponent this fall will be Julie Perry.
• Karen Keys-Gamarra, an at-large School Board member, beat three other competitors to secure the Democratic nomination in the new 7th District of the House of Delegates. Keys-Gamarra received 3,224 votes (37.03 percent) to Paul Berry’s 2,466 votes (28.33 percent), Shyamali Roy Hauth’s 2,296 votes (26.37 percent) and Mary “Red” Barthelson’s 720 votes (8.27 percent). Keys-Gamarra’s Republican opponent in November will be Luellen Hoffman Maskeny.
• Laura Cohen, the School Board’s Springfield District representative, defeated two other candidates to become the Democratic nominee in the new 15th House District. Cohen received 6,063 votes (65.89 percent) to Eric Schmidt’s 2,457 votes (26.7 percent) and M. Henri Thompson’s 682 votes (7.41 percent). Cohen in November will face Republican nominee Marcus Evans.
Turnout in the primary was 11.62 percent, with 90,774 registered voters out of 780,925 casting ballots.
