WMRA's Randi B. Hagi visited three polling places in the northern Shenandoah Valley to see how local residents voted on Election Day and why.
Winchester
Voters in Winchester's Virginia Avenue precinct have been moving left since 2020, when they favored Donald Trump over Joe Biden by less than two percentage points.
Christine Patrick, chief election officer for the precinct, said this was the first election held here, in the Winchester Public Schools central office – but people didn't seem to have trouble finding them.
CHRISTINE PATRICK: It's been steady from the very beginning.
Jacqueline Walker, a lifelong Winchester resident, said she voted for Democrats today because –
JACQUELINE WALKER: I'm just really tired of the way that things have been going with the economy and the war.
Kevin Gonzalez, who moved here about a year ago from Florida, voted for Bert Mizusawa and Ben Cline in part because he wants to see lower taxes.
KEVIN GONZALEZ: I think ironically, when it comes to the state motto of Virginia, you would think that there would be less government, and not more government, and we've found here that there's a lot of nickel- and dime-ing.
He also voted against the proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would protect abortion and other reproductive care.
GONZALEZ: Really wanting to protect children. I believe that children are – still in the womb, I think it's a baby girl or a baby boy whenever they're in there, and we don't want them to be hurt or killed.
Tracey Perez voted –
TRACEY PEREZ: Straight Democrat, all the way. … Because I think the Republicans are destroying democracy, bankrupting our country, and have no moral values. … The war in the Gulf, attacking voters' rights, totally undermining our Constitution, and the fact that Trump is getting rich off being the president – and that's just the beginning.
She also favored all of the constitutional amendments and an additional 1% sales tax for school construction.
Frederick County
About 10% of registered voters in Frederick County's politically diverse Ash Hollow district had cast their ballots in person by lunchtime Tuesday.
Fifty-nine percent of voters in this fast-growing area just east of Winchester supported Donald Trump in 2024, down from 67% four years prior. Last year's gubernatorial race was even closer. But voters here were very hesitant to speak with me, and the only ones who did, supported Democrats for Congress.
Tom Jewell described the current administration as –
TOM JEWELL: Nothing but crooks and corruption and just lying.
He also supported all three constitutional amendments, although voting rights for violent felons did give him a moment's pause.
JEWELL: The abortion thing – I have daughters. … I don't make decisions for my daughters' uteruses or anything. The gay thing – who cares? Really, who cares? … I'm just going to say, anybody who's a felon, if you did what the government asked you to do, you're still a citizen, and you should be allowed to vote.
Ashe Tohill is not a fan of incumbent House Republican Ben Cline.
ASHE TOHILL: As a trans person, I feel he doesn't represent my priorities. … He's supported the actions of DOGE, and I was actually a federal contractor last year who lost my job due to the actions of DOGE. I was a USAID contractor. … And I appreciate that Beth Macy is very strongly anti-data center.
Nicholas Battaile voted for the Democratic slate and all three constitutional amendments.
NICHOLAS BATTAILE: We as Virginians should absolutely be enshrining these rights for everybody, all Americans, all Virginians, and especially for women to have their right to choose.
Shenandoah County
The small, pastoral community of Fort Valley in Shenandoah County had strong voter turnout by midday Tuesday.
The "valley within a valley," as this crevice in the Blue Ridge is called, is a solid red precinct in a solid red county. By 1:30 p.m., about 270 people – 22% of the precinct's active, registered voters, had cast a ballot in person on Election Day.
Precinct Chief Wynn Waldron said –
WYNN WALDRON: We thought that because there was early voting, we would have a lower number, but we've had a steady stream of people. Very good attitude.
Kurt Randell voted for Republicans today, and cited concerns about the cost of healthcare and gas. He opposed all three constitutional amendments, but thought the ballot questions were misleading.
KURT RANDELL: When you start reading the question, it sounds like it's, oh, it's a good thing, but if you really read into the question – I'm not up to seeing same-sex marriages.
Katelyn Kibler is a lifelong resident of Fort Valley, and plans to stay here, despite being in the minority opinion supporting Democrats.
KATELYN KIBLER: I feel like my vote matters, especially in places like Fort Valley, where maybe there aren't as many Democrats as other places, but I care about the rights of myself and my friends and my community.
She felt strongly about ballot question one, which codifies Virginians' rights to reproductive care, including abortion.
KIBLER: I just think women have rights over their own body. I don't see a need for any government being involved.
President Donald Trump took 76% of the vote here in 2024 – down 10 percentage points from 2020.
