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Election 2019: Democrats take control of Va. legislature, 2 DC-area county boards

Democrats have taken control of both the Virginia Senate and House for the first time in more than two decades after Tuesday’s elections, The Associated Press has projected.

Democrats also took control of the boards of supervisors in Loudoun and Prince William counties, as well as the Loudoun County School Board and commonwealth’s attorney’s office.

“Tonight, the ground has shifted in Virginia government,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “The voters have spoken, and they have elected landmark Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House of Delegates.”

Democratic leader Sen. Dick Saslaw cited gun control, affordable health care and public education funding as key issues. “After years of Republican inaction, we are ready to get to work.”

House Speaker Kirk Cox, likely to lose his speakership, said, “Republicans will work with Democrats where they can, speak out against policies where they must, and always seek to guard the best interests of the people.”

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe called Tuesday night “the end of the era of Republican obstruction.”

The Republicans had controlled both houses by the narrowest of margins. They held a 21-19 advantage in the Senate and a 51-49 margin in the House of Delegates — that last only after a random drawing decided a tied election in District 94.

Recounts are p[ending in several races, but if Election Night counts hold, the Democrats will have a 55-45 advantage in the House and a 21-19 advantage in the Senate.

(And in a rematch of the District 94 race, Democrat Shelly Simonds apparently unseated Republican Del. David Yancey.)

All results are unofficial.

Va. Assembly races

In District 40, in parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties, Democrat and Army veteran Dan Helmer won against Republican Timothy Hugo, taking 53.32% of the votes against Hugo’s 46.58%.

In 2017, Hugo won by just 99 votes. He was the last Republican representing any part of Arlington, Fairfax County or Alexandria in the assembly or in Congress.

In District 28, Democrat Joshua Cole has been declared the winner by The Associated Press over Republican Paul Milde. Milde beat Del. Bob Thomas in the GOP primary in spring by promising to be more conservative than the incumbent. Cole only lost to Thomas by 73 votes in 2017 in an election marred by voters assigned to incorrect districts in parts of Stafford County and Fredericksburg.

That same issue reared its head Tuesday as, once again, some voters in Stafford County cast ballots in the wrong races, state elections officials said.

Democrat Suhas Subramanyam, a former Obama administration technology adviser, has apparently won the race for John Bell’s old seat in the 87th District, in Loudoun and Prince William counties. He will be Virginia’s first Indian-American delegate, topping Republican Bill Drennan. Bell left the seat to run for the Senate, where he topped Geary Higgins.

In Senate District 33, comprising Loudoun and Fairfax counties, incumbent Democrat Jennifer Boysko has been called the winner over Republican Suzanne Fox.

Several D.C.-area cities and towns in Maryland held elections for mayor and council.

MORE ELECTION DAY COVERAGE

In GOP-leaning District 33 — which covers parts of Loudoun, Frederick and Clarke counties — Republican Dave LaRock is leading Democrat Mavis Taintor.

In District 50 in parts of Prince William County and Manassas, Democratic Socialist Lee Carter appears to have beaten Republican Manassas City Councilman Ian Lovejoy. “I’m really looking forward to governing this commonwealth as a majority of Democrats for the first time in 23 years,” he said.

In the 10th District, comprising parts of Loudoun, Frederick and Clarke counties, Democratic Del. Wendy Gooditis evidently beat former Republican delegate Randy Minchew.

In Prince William County, Democratic Del. Hala Ayala appears to have fended off a challenge in District 51 from former Del. Rich Anderson. Also in part of Prince William County, Democratic Del. Danica Roem, the state’s first openly transgender delegate, appears to have won reelection in District 13, while Del. Elizabeth Guzman appears to have narrowly beaten Republican D.J. Jordan in the 31st District.

In Orange, Culpeper and Madison counties, Del. Nick Freitas appears to be in the lead in the 30th District as a write-in candidate, after he failed to properly file and qualify for the ballot. He’s up against Democrat Ann Ridgeway. It won’t be known exactly how many of the write-in votes are for Freitas, however, until the official count. The Board of Elections said that would take a day or two.

Va. Senate races

In parts of Loudoun and Prince William counties, the 13th District seat held by retiring conservative Sen. Dick Black has been called by The Associated Press for Democratic Del. John Bell. He faced Republican Loudoun County Supervisor Geary Higgins, who said he would follow in Black’s footsteps; President Donald Trump endorsed him in a tweet earlier in the week.

“We will pass the ERA in Virginia,” Bell said Tuesday night. “We will make sure no one is discriminated against in Virginia anymore. We’re going to make sure that everybody gets a fair wage. We’re going to make sure it’s a new Virginia, and it started right here — it started tonight.”

In parts of Stafford, Prince William, Spotsylvania, King George and Westmoreland counties, GOP Sen. Richard Stuart is well ahead in the Republican-leaning 28th District over Democrat Qasim Rashid. Stuart ran Facebook ads apparently attacking Rashid’s faith. Rashid would be Virginia’s first Muslim state senator.

In another Republican-leaning district, Sen. Bryce Reeves appears to have beaten Democrat Amy Laufer in the 17th District, representing parts of Spotsylvania, Orange, Culpeper, Louisa and Albemarle counties and Fredericksburg.

Among races elsewhere, Democrat Joe Morrissey has apparently won a state Senate seat despite previously commuting to the House of Delegates floor from jail each day, due to a relationship with an underage receptionist at his law office who is now his wife. Morrissey upset Sen. Rosalyn Dance in the June primary.

In the legislative races, two factors likely contributed to the Democrats’ big night — a redrawn assembly-district map and turnout.

What happened?

In the legislative races, two factors likely contributed to the Democrats’ big night — a redrawn assembly-district map and turnout.

Jones lost a district whose boundaries had been rearranged by the court after racial gerrymandering was found.

In a major race outside the D.C. area, Democrat Clinton Jenkins has been called the winner against Del. Chris Jones, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, in District 76.

Jones lost a district whose boundaries had been rearranged by the court after racial gerrymandering was found.

Turnout on Tuesday could be a record for a so-called “off-off-year” election, where there are no federal or statewide offices on the ballot. Such elections typically feature low turnout, particularly among Democrats.

These General Assembly elections will be the only ones conducted using the district maps chosen by a panel of federal judges in January, after ruling last year that lawmakers had racially gerrymandered 11 House districts by packing black voters into them.

Next year’s census will result in new population numbers, and thus new maps for the 2021 General Assembly elections.

There were issues with ballots in Prince William and Stafford counties. Read more about that here.

Local offices

Arlington County

Two members of the County Board — Democrats Christian Dorsey and Katie Cristol — have apparently beaten independent challengers Arron O’Dell and Audrey Clement.

Fairfax County

The Democrats picked up another seat on the board of supervisors Tuesday night.

Supervisor Jeff McKay, a Democrat, appears to have won by about a 2-to-1 margin in the race for chairman against Republican Joe Galdo.

Republican Pat Herrity narrowly leads his race for reelection in the Springfield District against Democrat Linda Sperling.

In the race for commonwealth’s attorney, Steve Descano appears to have beaten Jonathan Fahey, who qualified for the ballot as an independent. Descano won the Democratic primary over incumbent Ray Morrogh by running on a more progressive platform. Sheriff Stacey Kincaid is easily leading independent Christopher DeCarlo.

See all the Fairfax County results.

Loudoun County

Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall appears to have won a second term after a historic win four years ago, outpacing Republican John Whitbeck, who is a former chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, and independent Robert Ohneiser.

“This race,” she said Tuesday night, was about making sure every man, woman, girl and boy in Loudoun County is treated with equal dignity and respect at all times.”

Democrats appear to have picked up a majority on the Board of Supervisors, and Buta Biberaj appears to have unseated Commonwealth’s Attorney M. Nicole Wittman.

Sheriff Mike Chapman, a Republican, appears to have held off a challenge from Democrat Justin Hannah.

See all the Loudoun County results.

Prince William County

All of the county’s top offices are on the ballot this fall, including the election of a new Board of Supervisors chairman to replace Corey Stewart.

Democrat Ann Wheeler, a former county social services chair, appears to have won the race to succeed retiring Corey Stewart, a Republican. She topped John Gray, who branded himself as even more conservative than Stewart.

“I think we showed tonight that we are a good people, and we can defeat people who aren’t necessarily representing us in the right way,” she said at her victory celebration.

Voters are also choosing a School Board chairman again after a recent special election. Incumbent Babur Lateef appears to have beaten Alyson Satterwhite and Stanley Bender.

Democrat Amy Ashworth appears to have topped Republican Mike May in the commonwealth’s attorney’s race for Prince William County and Manassas, succeeding the retiring Paul Ebert. It’s the first time in decades there wasn’t an incumbent on the ballot.

The three-way race for sheriff appears to have ended with a win for incumbent Republican Glen Hill by about 1.3 percent over Democrat Josh King. Rhonda Dickson came third.

See all the Prince William County results.

Stafford County

Voters are selecting supervisors and school board members as well as other offices down to soil and water conservation director.

Incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Olsen, a Republican, has outpaced Democratic challenger Julia Dillon.

Sheriff D.P. Decatur, a Republican, appears to have beaten independent Chad Oxley.

Incumbent Commissioner of Revenue Scott Mayausky, a Republican, apparently has kept his seat over Democrat Lorena Thorne Bruner and independent Paul Waldowski.

Treasurer Laura Rudy, a Republican, appears to be cruising over Democratic challenger Henry Thomassen.

Ballot questions, bonds

In Loudoun County, voters appear to have passed three bond requests:

One will borrow $93.9 million for middle school expansions, a new Dulles North Middle School and other projects, as well as a $41.7 million parks bond question for Fields Farm Park, Lovettsville District Park, Bolen Park, Jenkins Park and other projects.
Another called for $56.8 million in transportation bonds for work, including an interchange at Route 7 and Hillsboro Road, a Sterling Boulevard and W&OD Trail overpass, and Route 7 pedestrian crossings.
And $22.8 million public safety bond request is earmarked for a fire rescue recruit training facility, Leesburg South Fire Station renovations and other projects.

Voters in the Town of Dumfries have allowed what is essentially a slots parlor operated by the owners of the Colonial Downs horse racing track. State lawmakers authorized the setup, and several off-track parlors with “historical horse racing games” have already opened elsewhere in the state.

Across Prince William County, voters appear to be approving a $355 million transportation bond question that would pay for work, including Devlin Road widening, Route 28 bypass/widening in the Manassas area, a Minnieville Road/Prince William Parkway interchange, the Old Bridge Road/Gordon Boulevard intersection, and Summit School Road’s extension.

Prince William County voters are also considering a scaled back $41 million parks bond for improvements at Howison Park, New Neabsco Park, Fuller Heights Park, Hellwig Park, and countywide trail projects.

In Fairfax County, voters appear to have approved a $360 million bond for school construction, renovation and other projects.

In Stafford County, a $50 million road projects bond question passed by voters will go toward major work on Enon Road at Route 1, Garrisonville Road, Layhill Road, Leeland Road, Mountain View Road, Onville Road and Shelton Shop Road, along with a number of other smaller projects.

Maryland towns hold elections

Besides elections in Virginia on Nov. 5, there are also a limited number of local races in parts of Maryland.

The City of Bowie announced at about 11 p.m. that Tim Adams has been elected mayor; Henri Gardner and Ingrid Harrison have been elected as at-large councilmembers. Michael Esteve and Dufour Woolfley have been reelected to the council for Districts 1 and District 2, respectively, while Adrian Boafo unseated Darian Senn-Carter and two other candidates in District 3, and Roxy Ndebumadu was elected to District 4.

In Gaithersburg, incumbent council members Neil Harris, Ryan Spiegel and Robert T. Wu were reelected.

In Rockville, a total of 15 candidates were on the ballot for mayor and four City Council seats. A total of 12,213 ballots were cast in the city’s first election by mail.

Incumbent Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton took 63.75% of the votes compared to the challenger, city council member Virginia Onley, at 34.66%.

The councilmember candidates with the most votes in Rockville are as follows:

Monique Ashton (12.58%), Beryl L. Feinberg (12.54%), David Myles (11.43%), Mark Pierzchala (10.66%).

In Greenbelt, all seven members of the City Council were reelected.

In Laurel, Mayor Craig Moe was elected to his sixth term, turning back a challenge from Jeffrey W. Mills; at-large councilmember Valerie Nicholas was reelected in the only contested council race.

In College Park, Mayor Patrick Wojahn was reelected. Councilmembers S.M. Fazlul Kabir and Catherine Hope Kennedy ran unopposed in District 1; P.J. Brennan and Monroe Dennis were reelected in District 2; Robert Day Sr. and John Rigg were sent back to their seats in District 3, and in District 4, Denise Mitchell was reelected while Maria Mackie was picked to succeed Dustyn Kujawa.

National attention

Virginia was one of several states nationwide holding statewide elections, and Jeff Skelley, an elections analyst for 538, said the results could be a signal. “Looking ahead to 2020 is definitely on the minds of a lot of analysts,” Skelley added. “They want to see if the coalitions the two parties had in the 2016 presidential election are going to hold up.”

Skelley added that the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump plays into even local politics. “You would think it would be about the issues that affect those localities or state, but our politics are polarized and nationalized,” Skelley said, noting that in Kentucky, where the president is popular, Gov. Matt Bevin tied himself to Trump, while in Virginia, Democrats painted their opponents as Trump allies.

‘Is that weird?’

Voters streaming into Centreville High School to cast ballots listed education, the environment and gun control as issues important to them.

“This was the first time I’ve voted for both parties depending on … the person. Is that weird?” said Elizabeth Sandhu, of Clifton, Virginia, who cited the environment as a top issue.

Jonelle Sweet, a teacher at Centreville High, brought her three sons to the polls — each wearing a “Future Voter” T-shirt.

“I’m excited to make some change in our neighborhood and get people out there who represent my views.”

Note the Future Voters T-shirts on Johnelle Sweet’s children. She’s voting at Centreville HS @fairfaxvotes @WTOP pic.twitter.com/ASnS0OCre2

— Kristi King (@kingWTOP) November 5, 2019

WTOP’s Michelle Basch, Dick Uliano and Kristi King, and The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

Rick Massimo

Rick Massimo came to WTOP, and to Washington, in 2013 after having lived in Providence, R.I., since he was a child. He's the author of "A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set" and "I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival."