All the news from primary day

The latest in Virginia politics

Jun 09, 2021

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Democrats have selected their statewide nominees to face the Republicans this November. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe won the gubernatorial nomination, Del. Hala Ayala won the lieutenant governor nomination, and Attorney General Mark Herring earned the nomination to run for reelection to a third term.

Terry McAuliffe @TerryMcAuliffe

So excited for our Dem ticket!! @HalaAyala @EFillerCorn @C_Herring @VAHouseDems. And @MarkHerringVA called in from Leesburg! Let’s do this. Teamwork makes the dream work. ONWARD☄️💥🇺🇸💥⚡️

Brandon Jarvis @Jaaavis

McAuliffe comes out to "Living on a Prayer" to address his supporters. "Are you ready to light it up?!" he asks.

Brandon Jarvis @Jaaavis

"Glenn Youngkin spends his July 4 every year with @tedcruz," McAuliffe just said. "He vacations with Ted Cruz. Who does that? They don't even like Tdd Cruz in Texas, let alone Virginia."

Hala Ayala @HalaAyala

Thank you to the voters who believed in our vision and voted to make history tonight!

Mark Herring @MarkHerringVA

I’m proud to be your Democratic nominee for Virginia Attorney General. After 8 years of unprecedented progress, we’ll have the opportunity with a Democratic Majority to break progressive ground like never before. Now, we’ll unite as one party and win big in November.

McAuliffe defeated Jennifer Carroll Foy, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, Del. Lee Carter, and Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax in the race for the nomination.

“We fought hard,” said Carroll Foy in a speech after the votes were counted and McAuliffe was named the winner. “We left it all on the field. We left no voter not spoken to, no door not knocked. And it wasn't due to a lack of effort that we fell short. So your head should not be down. During trying times like these we stood up. Unions stood up. Women across this Commonwealth stood up. People of color and millennials stood up. And most importantly, progressives, we stood up.”

Jennifer McClellan talked about the historical significance of her run after the results were in. “Although tonight did not go the way we wanted it to, we made history,” McClellan said. “Like Maggie Walker and Shirley Chisholm before me, we put more cracks in the glass ceiling that one day a Black woman will shatter. And I hope I have inspired her to find her voice and demand her seat at the head of the table.”

Additionally, a few House Democrats, Del. Lee Carter (Manassas), Del. Ibrahim Samirah (Fairfax), and Del. Mark Levine (Alexandria) lost their seats to primary challengers.

“This job has made me miserable for the last 4 years,” Carter wrote on Twitter after losing to Michelle E. Lopes-Maldonado in the House primary. “I made a lot of people's lives objectively better, but the constant assassination threats and harassment were terrible for my family and my health. I'm relieved to say that I've done my part, and now it's someone else's turn.”

Del. Ibraheem Samirah @IbraheemSamirah

To the voters: We didn’t get the election result we wanted. I am still immensely proud of the campaign we ran. We stayed positive, highlighted our accomplishments and pushed healthcare as a human right, housing for all, and the need for a healthy democracy. 1/

Republicans respond to the new Democratic nominees after the results were final.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin: “While we differ mightily as to how to best serve Virginians, I want to thank the five contenders in today’s primary for running. I welcome Terry McAuliffe to the race and look forward to presenting our competing ideas for Virginia’s future. Our Commonwealth is less safe than it was 8 years ago, does not provide the economic opportunity that Virginians deserve, and is more expensive for workers and families. Voters from across the political spectrum agree that we need a new kind of leader to bring a new day to Virginia. Get ready, because Terry McAuliffe will default to the same political games he’s played his entire life. I’m confident that voters will not choose a recycled, 40-year political insider and career politician who pretends to be a businessman, who talks big but doesn’t deliver, and who failed Virginians the first time he was governor. I am looking forward and moving beyond the politics of the past to bring people together around our shared values and rebuilding Virginia into the best place in America to live, work, and raise a family. Together we will reignite our economy, restore excellence in our schools, and reestablish our commitment to public safety. I invite every Virginian to join our team.”
Republican lieutenant governor nominee Winsome Sears: “Delegate Ayala has a longstanding record of putting her radical leftist beliefs ahead of our Virginia values. She’s forgotten our Commonwealth to stand with liberal elites who seek to have us continually fighting each other and divide us by race—all while our children are failing in school and our businesses have been destroyed or left hanging on for dear life. Delegate Ayala has proven that Virginians cannot trust her, that her pocket is prime for lining, and that her loyalty can be bought—just ask Clean Virginia about her $100,000 broken promise. Moreover, she is not someone who should be in the Lieutenant Governor’s seat. Delegate Ayala is wrong on policy, wrong on business, wrong on education—she’s plain wrong for Virginia. The reality is that Virginians are sick and tired of political bickering and in November they will resoundly reject the Democratic nominees. The big government policies of the McAuliffe-Northam regime and overreach across the Commonwealth has crippled our economy and soured our status as a business-friendly state. Virginians are ready for a new day in the Commonwealth. It’s time for a new day, new hope, and new opportunity for all Virginians. I stand ready to serve Virginia from day one.”
Republican attorney general nominee Jason Miyares: "Tonight, Virginia Democrats chose the radical, left-wing path and nominated Mark Herring as their candidate for Virginia Attorney General-- thanks to an influx of national progressive cash to save Herring’s failing campaign. Under Mark Herring’s leadership, the Attorney General’s office has become radically liberal and more dangerous. The office no longer respects the rule of law and instead makes every decision trying to please left-wing extremists who now control the Virginia Democrat Party. Attorney General Herring has chosen to side with criminals over law abiding citizens. Attorney General Herring and the Democrat led legislature supported laws that will bring more violent crimes into our neighborhoods-- releasing violent offenders from prison through a liberal, lenient parole system; supporting bail reform that allows the release of those charged with violent crimes immediately; voiding mandatory minimum sentencing for violent criminals so these criminals will get lighter sentences; and supporting a continued assault upon our police officers. As the only former prosecutor in this race, I will return the Attorney General’s office to its proper law enforcement role. I will work to ensure our streets are safe and violent criminals remain locked up to promote public safety."
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Rich Anderson: “Despite the longest early voting period ever, no photo identification requirements, and near-universal vote-by-mail, Democrats across the Commonwealth are fretting about low turnout. It’s safe to say that Republicans are the most excited group in Virginia for Terry McAuliffe’s primary win. Virginia Democrats have nominated a career politician with a record of broken promises, who is intent on dividing our Commonwealth. Eight years ago, then-Governor Terry McAuliffe spearheaded the leftist liberal policies that have made Virginians less safe, made Virginia more expensive to raise a family, and squashed economic opportunity. Virginia needs a leader with fresh thinking that can kickstart our economy and lead us into a brighter future. Glenn Youngkin is a political outsider that has laid out a vision to unify Virginians around an agenda that makes Virginia the best place in America to live, work, and raise a family, and he’s part of the most diverse ticket in Virginia history—reflective of the Commonwealth—that is receiving broad support from all Virginians, including Independents and Democrats.”

Primary Turnout Down Compared to 2017 - Virginia Public Access Project

Statewide turnout in yesterday's Democratic primary was 8.0 percent of registered voters, down from a record 9.9 percent four years ago. This visual looks at the number of voters who turned out in every locality compared to the Democratic primary in 2017.

View Graphic

McAullife Wins Gubernatorial Nomination in Virginia’s Democratic Primary - Courthouse News

by Brad Kutner

Former Virginia Governor Terry McAullife may be the third man in Virginia’s history to hold the state’s executive office seat for a second time after securing a win in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary.

With nearly all precincts reporting, McAullife had 62% of the vote as of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, easily besting his competitors. Jennifer Carrol Foy, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates came in second with 20% of the vote.

Dels. Lee Carter, Mark Levine lose House seats after trailing in statewide bids - Richmond Times-Dispatch

by Michael Martz

Two Democratic delegates who lost nomination fights for statewide office Tuesday then lost their House seats in Democratic primaries.

Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, a Democratic socialist who sought the party’s nomination for governor, lost his fight for renomination to Michelle E. Lopes-Maldonado, a former attorney who is a small-business owner.

Virginia lieutenant governor primary results: Hala Ayala wins - Washington Post

By Antonio Olivo

Virginia state Del. Hala S. Ayala won the Democratic Party nomination for lieutenant governor Tuesday, beating five opponents in an expensive race for the state’s second-highest office that revolved around the influence of donors and the possibility of adding diversity to the executive branch.

With nearly all precincts reporting, the unofficial results showed Ayala (Prince William) far ahead of Del. Sam Rasoul (Roanoke), who garnered the second-most votes.

Del. Sam Rasoul tells supporters he will continue to punch 'holes in darkness' - Roanoke Times

By Luke Weir

Sam Rasoul on primary election night told staffers and supporters gathered in Roanoke that he would continue fighting to punch holes in darkness, even though his campaign fell short of winning the Democrat nomination for lieutenant governor.

“Sam Rasoul is not going away,” he said to a crowd of about 40 people. “As tough as politics can be, as cynical as we can be sometimes, we know that what we need to be able to do is to be punching those holes in darkness.”

Attorney General Herring wins Democratic primary against challenger Del. Jay Jones - Richmond Times-Dispatch

by Patrick Wilson

Attorney General Mark Herring defeated Democratic primary challenger Jay Jones on Tuesday to become the party’s fall nominee in his bid for a third term, according to unofficial results.

The race wasn’t an easy one for Herring, who focused on defending his record and acknowledging violence by police.

Democratic primary voters in Virginia oust some of General Assembly’s most outspoken delegates - Virginia Mercury

by Ned Oliver

Primary voters in Virginia delivered a rebuke to the left wing of the Democratic party on Tuesday, sweeping three outspoken incumbents from office and rejecting progressive challengers in all but one race.

By the end of the night, voters had booted Dels. Lee Carter, D-Prince William, the General Assembly’s only socialist; Ibraheem Samirah, D-Fairfax, a progressive activist who protested Trump during an official visit; and Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, one of the chamber’s most forceful proponents of gun control.

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