WMRA 2024 Election Coverage

Reported by the Virginia Board State Board of Elections at 12:51am on Nov. 6, 2024 (with provisional and post-election votes not yet counted)

Winchester Mayor

(1 open seat)

Les C. Veach (R) 50.29% Votes 5,090

Bryan R. "BPG" Pearce-Gonzales (D) 42.12% Votes 4,263

W. Thea Thomas (I) 7.01% Votes 710

Winchester City Council - First Ward

(1 open seat)

Timothy H. "Chip" Newcome (D) 53.13% Votes 2,077

Brandon Wainwright Pifer (R) 46.38% Votes 1,813

Winchester City Council - Second Ward

(1 open seat)

Terry L. Sloane (I) 50.12% Votes 808

John W. Hill (D) 48.88% Votes 788

Winchester City Council - Fourth Ward

(1 open seat)

John C. Fox (R) 53.68% Votes 1,321

Phillip L. "Phil" Milstead (D) 45.02% Votes 1,108

Winchester City School Board - Third Ward

(1 open seat)

Benjamin C. Rothermel (I) 52.78% Votes 844

Elyus A. Wallace (I) 46.09% Votes 737

From the Virginia Public Radio Newsroom

Democrat Eugene Vindman declared victory in Virginia’s 7th District congressional race.

The contest pitted two veterans against each other in a swing seat that Democrats held by five points after 2022 redistricting.

Eugene Vindman had this to say when celebrating his win at a watch party in Fredericksburg with a message to those who voted against him.

EUGENE VINDMAN: “I respect you, I see you and I will represent you just as faithfully as I do every other constituent.

The district was a must win for Democrats who hope to build a majority in the House of Representatives.

Republican candidate Derrick Anderson was not ready to concede late Tuesday night. In a message to supporters he said, “We are hopeful that the final numbers will reflect the wonderful support we’ve seen during this campaign.”

As of 12:43am Wednesday, Nov.6th, the AP had not called the race which remains close.
The Virginia Board of Elections reported the count at:
Eugene Vindman (Dem) 51.1% 195,316 (votes)
Derrick Anderson (GOP) 48.9% 187,074 (votes)

Virginia's 10th congressional district represents Rappahannock County, Fauquier County, and Loudoun County, and also includes parts of Fairfax County, Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park.

The AP has called the race for Subramanyam at 11:10pm Nov. 5, 2024 with 97% of the vote counted.

Suhas Subramanyam (D) 51.91% Votes 206,621

Mike Clancy (R) 47.72% Votes 189,946

Reported by the Virginia Board State Board of Elections at 10:59pm on Nov. 5, 2024 (with provisional and post-election votes not yet counted)

Staunton City Council

(4 open seats)

Adam F. Campbell (I) 26.86% Votes 7,231

Corrie R. Park (I) 21.13% Votes 5,689

Jeff L. Overholtzer (I) 19.77% Votes 5,322

Blake N. Shepherd (I) 16.56% Votes 4,459

C. Dan Gunnells (I) 14.39% Votes 3,875

Reported by the Virginia Board State Board of Elections at 10:24pm on Nov. 5, 2024 (with provisional and post-election votes not yet counted)

Waynesboro City Council - At Large

(1 open seat)

Jeremy D. Sloat 51.66% Votes 4,951

Robert W. "Bobby" Henderson 47.08% Votes 4,512

Waynesboro City Council - Ward A

(1 open seat)

Lorie Jean Strother (I) 56.15% Votes 963

David W. "Major Dave" Goetze (R) 43.73% Votes 750

Waynesboro City Council - Ward B

(1 open seat)

Terry R. Short Jr. (I) 56.94% Votes 1,670

William H. Flory (R) 42.38% Votes 1,243

Reported by the Virginia Board State Board of Elections at 10:14pm on Nov. 5, 2024 (with provisional and post-election votes not yet counted)

Note: There were an estimated 2,351 provisional votes cast which could change the outcome of these races once they are processed.

Harrisonburg City Council

(3 open seats)

Deanna R. Reed (D) - 28.63% 8,113 (votes)

Laura A. Dent (D) - 26.46% 7,497 (votes)

Nasser A. Alsaadun (D) - 22.95% 6,503 (votes)

E. Javier Calleja (I) - 21.09% 5,976 (votes)

Harrisonburg City School Board

(3 open seats)

Timothy M. Howley (I) 27.23% 7,135 (votes)

Matthew T. Snyder (I) 26.79% 7,021 (votes)

Kaylene R. Seigle (I) 23.47% 6,151 (votes)

Hazzar Maria Pastor Perdomo (I) 21.75% 5,700 (votes)

Reported by the Virginia Board State Board of Elections at 9:43pm on Nov. 5, 2024 (with provisional and post-election votes not yet counted)

Lexington City Council

(3 open seats)

Marylin E. Alexander (I) 29.36% 1,306 (votes)

Leslie C. Straughan (I) 27.11% 1,289 (votes)

John P. Driscoll (I) 23.89% 1,136 (votes)

Madeleine E. Robinson (I) 18.04% 858 (votes)

Lexington City School Board

(3 open seats)

Tammy M. Dunn (I) 28.57% 1,245 (votes)

Kasey C. Potter (I) 24.03% 1,047 (votes)

Katie C. Masey (I) 23.48% 1,023 (votes)

Meghan N. S. Ferguson (I) 22.77% 992 (votes)

The economy was on the top of voters' minds at one Albemarle County polling place today.

At Crozet Elementary School, Chief Official Lynn Rutherford-Snow said there was a line out the door when they opened at 6 a.m. Nearly 200 people voted in that first hour. Since then, it's been...

LYNN RUTHERFORD-SNOW: Very steady. Constant, constant, one right after another. … We're thinking anywhere between 1,500 to 2,000 are probably going to roll through Crozet 601 today.

That would be at least half of the active registered voters in the precinct. The three voters I spoke with all cast their ballots for Donald Trump. They were primarily concerned about the economy.

Christine Von Lewinski wants...

CHRISTINE VON LEWINSKI: Definitely for inflation to decrease, and just for the economy to get back on track. … The grocery store – it's incredible. Like, eight dollars for cream cheese is just ridiculous.

Twenty-year-old Eli Scarbrough is a student at Christopher Newport University. He drove three hours to come vote, motivated by...

ELI SCARBROUGH: The gas prices and also, just the economy by itself … and even with COVID, he still did a pretty good job, even though – if he just shuts up sometimes. That's my main thing, but I just think under the economy, we were a lot better and we were making a lot more money.

Rachel Collins agreed, it's about...

RACHEL COLLINS: The economy, absolutely, the economy. I have three grandchildren, seven children, so yeah, I'm worried about their future. … The border, that's another thing.

In 2020, over 65% of Albemarle County went for Biden – but the Crozet precinct favored Trump two to one, based on in-person votes.

Construction and the democratic process were underway at the middle school on Tuesday. Chief Official Amy Mack said about 600 regular ballots and 70 provisional ballots had been cast as of 1 p.m. Several first-time voters were at the precinct, including 19-year-old Rosé Solomon. She voted for Kamala Harris and is a member of the trans community.

ROSÉ SOLOMON: "I feel honored, because I always thought that this time would come, but I didn't think it was going to come right now. … It's really empowering to see … people of my community trying to vote for another woman who stands for their rights."

Her mother, Danielle Solomon, made sure she got to the polls.

ROSÉ SOLOMON: "She kept waking me up being like, it's your first time to vote, come on! Come on, hurry up!"

DANIELLE SOLOMON: "It was very important, because I wanted to make sure that my daughter comes for her first time voting, be a big support of her community. … I'm very big on making sure that a female gets in. I voted for Hillary, and am trying to give another woman another shot, type of thing."

Ryan Emison, a recent University of Virginia grad, said he voted for Donald Trump, although he wasn't happy about the choice.

RYAN EMISON: "I'm more concerned about the economy and stopping World War III from breaking out. So I voted based off of how I thought his policies are going to affect me and our country at large, rather than on the human being that he is. … He's the only president in the last 50 years to get Israel to sign a peace deal with another Arab country … and I don't have confidence in our current administration to settle what's going on in the Middle East."

Nana Akygampong-Ghartey came out with his family to vote for Kamala Harris. He said leaders must be wise enough to make decisions that benefit the people.

NANA AKYGAMPONG-GHARTEY: "Somebody may ask – "let's make America great again." When did America become great? When we were having slavery? Or … when we were dealing with the Japanese, was it when we were great? At what particular point did America become great so that we should become great again?"

The reliably blue Charlottesville electorate went for Joe Biden in 2020 with 86% of the vote.

From the Virginia Public Radio Newsroom

Voters in Damascus were at the polls today, in a community that was shaken by recent flooding when Hurricane Helene ripped through this part of Southwest Virginia.

Many voters said Democrats and Republicans have come together to help each other rebuild, even though political tensions are high.

Floods damaged Michael Milhorne’s home, but he says he made sure to get here today to cast his vote. He voted for some Republicans, but not for Donald Trump.

MICHAEL MILHORNE: "I voted for Kamela Harris. I’m concerned about the democracy of our country. And that’s the reason I voted the way I did."

Another voter, Teresa Seymore, said she was voting for Donald Trump, and thinks most people in Damascus are even more excited for him this year, than in previous elections.

TERESA SEYMORE: "Because they see what they’ve missed with the democrats. and the country’s gone downhill since they’ve been in office."

29-percent of voters in Damascus voted early or by mail this election. That’s lower than in 2020, but almost double the number from 2022.

From the VPM Newsroom

Voters in Albemarle County and the city of Charlottesville headed to polling stations to make their voices heard and VPM News Editor Meghin Moore spoke to the people overseeing the local elections.

The registrars for the city and county both say they expect pretty high turnout for this year’s election.

Charlottesville Registrar Taylor Yowell: "A good number metric that we use is it'll typically be somewhere around 75% of our actively registered voters are who are going to vote on Election Day total."

Albemarle County Registrar Lauren Eddy said she expects to see about 80 to 85% of registered voters turnout. She estimates that 30% of county voters had already cast ballots during the early voting period.

Eddy says the county was “drowning” in same-day registrations and added that, "From then on, we did over 300 so and we're hearing from our polling places that there are a lot of same-day registrations happening, I would say maybe over 1000."

She also expects voter turnout in this year’s election to surpass numbers from 2020.

From the VPM Newsroom

11 voters in Richmond’s 3rd District were able to vote for federal candidates — but not for mayor, City Council or School Board members Tuesday - after they were given the wrong ballot.

The voter precinct captain, Barbara Burgo, was removed from her position by local election officials.

Burgo says she’s worked the polls for more than a decade.

"My doors opened at 6:03. Voting went well. I have a new officer who gave out the wrong ballot for 11 persons. She’s new. She made a mistake. She’s a human being."

3rd District City Council candidate Kenya Gibson called the incident "alarming".

State elections commissioner Susan Beals said those 11 voters would not be able to amend their ballots.

From the VPM Newsroom

Virginia Senator Mark Warner says a year ago, he was concerned about threats being made against election officials. This week, he thinks the U.S. is prepared for Election Day.

"So on the election mechanics, I feel very good. In terms of disinformation and misinformation. What we're seeing is a ramping up."

Warner told VPM News that Virginia election officials worked with the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ahead of Tuesday.

The commonwealth’s senior senator expects disinformation to hit, “almost a fever pitch,” Tuesday and Wednesday. He encouraged voters to verify information they see.

It was a busy morning at Central High School in Shenandoah County on election day as voters made their way to the polls.

WMRA's Bridget Manley spoke with voters there on this election day.

A circuit court judge has ordered the Waynesboro electoral board to certify the city's election results after canvassing is complete. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi caught up with voters and poll workers there on Election Day.

Just over 500 people had cast their vote in person at the Waynesboro Public Library as of 11 a.m. Pages from the Fishburne Military School directed voters to the polls. Latrona Garnett is the chief official there.

LATRONA GARNETT: All I can say is here in Waynesboro, we are very, very dedicated to making sure your vote counts correctly. We do not do anything that is against any rules, so you can be assured that whatever vote you cast will be counted, and there won't be any discrepancies with it.

Outside, Don Solimini told me he was confident that his vote would be counted accurately. He voted for Kamala Harris for president.

DON SOLIMINI: Whether I agree with her, all of her policies, or not, it is a function of, I'd rather see the democracy go on, and I don't see that going on with him.

Melinda Craig, a 47-year-old realtor, came to vote with her 21-year-old daughter, Savannah. As they walked out of the library, they joked that their votes probably canceled each other out.

SAVANNAH CRAIG: As a woman, I think THAT the woman's right to their own body is important, and I think that certain candidates are less, have less of an importance on female autonomy than others.

MELINDA CRAIG: I'm selfish, I'm looking at it from a financial standpoint, a lot of it. I've watched how much my financial situation has changed in the last several years, and I'm trying to find a way out of that. So that's a very big thing for me. I'm also very big into the church. So it leans me one way – the opposite.

Melinda said she gives her kids the freedom to choose whatever they think is best.