Though only one party had races on the ballot, Fairfax County saw a year-over-year increase in voter turnout for yesterday’s primary election.
Approximately 9% of the county’s registered voters cast a ballot on Tuesday, June 17, according to unofficial results — a jump from the 7.98% overall turnout last June, when both parties had U.S. House races on the ballot.
The figure is also higher than Democratic turnout in both last March’s presidential primary election (8%) and 2021’s primary elections (7.91%), which is the last time statewide offices were on the ballot.
“This goes to show that Democrats are fired up to reject Republicans’ extreme agenda that attacks workers, schools, and families to line the pockets of the rich,” Fairfax County Democratic Committee chairman Aaron Yohai told FFXnow.
Tuesday’s elections ultimately saw state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi and former Del. Jay Jones secure the party’s nominations for lieutenant governor and attorney general, respectively.
Hashmi, who represents an area south of Richmond, garnered 27.48% of the vote in the tight lieutenant governor’s race, narrowly outpacing former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (26.69%) and state Sen. Aaron Rouse (26.14%).
Hashmi is the first Muslim and the first Indian-American to be nominated for a statewide office in Virginia history, according to the Associated Press, which didn’t call the race until this morning (Wednesday).
Jones also secured victory with a slim lead, besting Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor by roughly 9,000 votes.
When it comes to the winning candidates, however, Fairfax County only backed Hashmi. According to unofficial results, Hashmi garnered 19,443 votes in the county — 605 more than that of second-place finisher Stoney.
Fairfax County voters widely supported Taylor in the attorney general race, giving her nearly 5,500 votes over Jones.
The unofficial results don’t yet include provisional and post-election ballots, which have yet to be reported. Ballots sent by mail will be counted as long as they were postmarked by election day and arrive at the Fairfax County Office of Elections by noon on Friday (June 20).
With their wins, Hashmi and Jones join a Democratic ticket headed by gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger. It’s the party’s first ticket without a Northern Virginia resident since 1985.
The Republican Party had long ago settled on a ticket comprised of Winsome Earle-Sears (Governor), John Reid (Lieutenant Governor) and Jason Miyares (Attorney General).
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 4 and will include all 100 House of Delegates seats on the ballot, in addition to the statewide races.
More from the AP on the significance of the upcoming election:
The November election is sure to make history as Virginia is set to elect its first female governor since the state’s first governorship 250 years ago. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who ran for the Democratic nomination unopposed, will battle Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears — the only Republican who qualified for the ballot.
Virginia is one of two states that host statewide elections the year after a presidential election — New Jersey is the other — and the races are typically seen as referendums on the party in power before Congress heads into midterm elections.
Analysts will be looking for clues in both states about voter sentiment with Trump back in the Oval Office and Republicans controlling power in Washington.
Democrats’ hold on Virginia has slipped in recent years, moving it close to swing-state status nationally. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin beat former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2021.
Still, Democrats have history on their side: The party of the sitting president typically suffers defeat in Virginia’s statewide races. And considering Trump has never won the state, Democrats are probably better positioned to make gains once their ticket solidifies.
