Last night the Democrats rounded out their ticket by nominating two State Senators for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General -- Ralph Northam (LG-Norfolk) and Mark Herring (AG-Loudon). Terry McAuliffe will of course be at the top of the ticket in the Governor’s slot. The stage is now set for a race against the Republican ticket of Cuccinelli, Jackson and Obenshain.
There were several other primaries for House of Delegates seats:
Incumbent Republicans Bill Howell (Speaker), Todd Gilbert and Bobby Orrock easily won.
Incumbent Democrat Rosalyn Dance won a hard fought and contentious race in Petersburg.
The surprises of the evening were losses by two long-time, powerful incumbents from northwest Virginia. Both Bev Sherwood and Joe May lost in their primaries. Bev Sherwood was in line to be the next chair of appropriations after Lacey Putney’s retirement and Joe May is Chairman of the powerful transportation committee.
More to come in the days ahead on the impact in particular of the May and Sherwood losses. Now we have a clearer picture of what is to come. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here are some selected clips from around the state:
STATE ELECTIONS
BY CHELYEN DAVIS
Free Lance-Star
Virginia Democrats nominated two sitting state senators as statewide candidates in Tuesday’s primary, rounding out a ticket that had already nominated Terry McAuliffe for the top spot. Sen. Ralph Northam, of Norfolk, edged out Aneesh Chopra for the lieutenant governor nomination, while Sen. Mark Herring of Loudoun beat out Justin Fairfax for the attorney general nomination.
BY BEN PERSHING AND ERRIN WHACK
Washington Post
A sparse crowd of Virginia Democrats turned out to nominate Ralph Northam for lieutenant governor and Mark Herring for attorney general Tuesday, setting up clear contrasts for November’s much-watched elections. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Northam, a state senator from Norfolk, had prevailed over former U.S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra. And Herring, a state senator from Loudoun, narrowly defeated former federal prosecutor Justin Fairfax.
BY LAURA VOZZELLA
Washington Post
Two 20-year veterans of Virginia’s House of Delegates lost their seats Tuesday, falling to GOP primary challengers who assailed their support for a tax-heavy transportation funding overhaul. Del. Joe T. May (Loudoun) and Del. Beverly J. Sherwood (Frederick) lost to political newcomers who railed against the transportation plan, which imposes a $1.2-billion-a-year tax increase.
LONGTIME VA. DEL. JOE MAY LOSES GOP PRIMARY
Associated Press
Senior Republican Del. Joe May has lost his bid for an 11th term to a conservative primary challenger with tea party support. The 76-year-old inventor is one of the General Assembly’s wealthiest members and serves as chairman of the transportation committee.
AFTER 10 TERMS, SHERWOOD LOSES VA GOP PRIMARY
Associated Press
Del. Beverly Sherwood has lost her bid for re-election to an 11th term to a conservative challenger in the Republican primary. Mark J. Berg won 51.2 percent of the vote on Tuesday to defeat the 66-year-old Sherwood.
BY MARKUS SCHMIDT
Richmond Times-Dispatch
After a hotly contested primary, Del. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg on Tuesday held off a challenge by political newcomer Evandra Thompson and secured the party’s nomination in the 63rd House District. “I said at the beginning of this primary that it will be the people of the 63rd District who decide this race, not some outsiders,” Dance said. “And the people of the 63rd District have spoken.”