- Virginia is holding Democratic primaries in all its US House districts and Republican primaries in two districts on June 23.
- Several Democratic candidates are vying for the nomination in Virginia’s 5th District, which could be more competitive for Democrats this year after Republicans ousted incumbent Rep. Denver Riggleman.
- Because of the significant increase in Virginians voting by mail this election, these races will likely not be called the night of the election.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The stakes:
Physician and former White House fellow Cameron Webb won the Democratic primary election in Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District, which is located in Central Virginia and includes the cities of Charlottesville and Danville.
On June 13th, Virginia Republicans ousted incumbent GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman in a drive-through party convention process attended by party delegates, as opposed to a regular primary election.
Republicans in the district, who were displeased with some of Riggleman’s more libertarian stances and his officiating a same-sex wedding, replaced him with Bob Good, a hardline, anti-immigration conservative who opposes birthright citizenship, same-sex marriage, and abortion in all circumstances.
The district, which Riggleman won by seven percentage points in 2018, could now be more competitive for Democrats as an open seat.
Webb defeated Roger Dean Huffstetler, a US Marine veteran who has previously worked in technology, John Lesinski, a former member of the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors, and Claire Russo, also a US Marine veteran and sexual assault prevention advocate in Tuesday’s primary.
On the Republican side, there will be primaries in the second congressional district, currently held by Rep. Elaine Luria, a former Navy Captain who flipped the seat for Democrats in 2018, and the third district, a safe Democratic seat held by Rep. Bobby Scott.
In the second district, former Rep. Scott Taylor is running to face Luria in a re-match. He’s running against Navy veteran and businessman Ben Loyola and retired Navy Chief Petty Office Jarome Bell in the Republican primary.
