Virginia election results: Majority of state officials return

Election Day results are in for the Senate and House of Representatives in the Commonwealth of Virginia. All of Virginia’s 11 seats in the House of Representatives were open, and some have been returned to their previous congressmen while others have been claimed by new faces.

According to the Office of Government Relations, Liberty University students participated in this year’s election by either voting on campus, voting at an off-campus polling place in Lynchburg or as an absentee voter. Kenny Craig, the director of Government and Community Relations, said roughly 2,686 students voted at the university’s polling location, with 1,476 votes directly being scanned in and 1,210 votes counted as provisional ballots. 

“If the provisional votes all hold up, this vote total will be over double the 2020 vote total for this location,” Craig said.

Craig said the Nov. 12 electoral board meeting will officialize the provisional votes. 

In the 1st Congressional District, spanning most of Virginia’s coast, Republican incumbent congressman Robert J. Wittman kept the seat, which he has held since 2007, after winning 265,576 votes. His opponent, Democrat Leslie C. Mehta, received 204,616 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. 

Republican Jen A. Kiggans was chosen to represent the 2nd District over Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal. Kiggans won with 201,077 votes while Smasal received 184,263 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Kiggans said in a Facebook post on Nov. 6: “Serving our Commonwealth in Washington is the privilege of a lifetime, and I will continue to work every day to deliver for the people of Virginia’s 2nd District.”

Encompassing the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District voted Democrat Robert C. “Bobby” Scott back into office. He defeated the competing Republican candidate, John Sitka III, with 211,102 votes compared to Sitka’s 90,751 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

In Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, Democrat Jennifer L. McClellan was reelected with 242,854 votes over her Republican competitor William J. “Bill” Moher III, who received 119,112 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. The 4th District covers the southeast corner of Virginia, spanning from Richmond to Emporia near the North Carolina border.

Republican John J. McGuire III was chosen over Democrat Gloria Tinsley Witt in the commonwealth’s 5th District, which includes the cities of Danville, Charlottesville and Lynchburg. McGuire defeated Witt with 243,507 votes compared to Witt’s 179,088 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

In the 6th District, Republican Ben L. Cline defeated Democrat Ken L. Mitchell after Cline received 250,081 votes over Mitchell’s 136,273 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. This will be Cline’s fourth term in office, according to WDBJ7.

Democrat Eugene S. Vindman won the 7th District’s seat with 197,876 votes against his Republican opponent Derrick M. Anderson who received 188,075 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

The 8th District’s seat was claimed by Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr. who returned to his position over Republican Jerry W. Torres. Beyer will begin his sixth term after winning 267,782 votes over Torres’ 91,253 votes. Two independent candidates also lost to Beyer. David R. Kennedy received 9,147 votes, and Bentley F. Hensel received 3,428 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Republican H. Morgan Griffith defeated Democrat Karen G. H. Baker to claim the 9th District. Griffith won with 284,679 votes while Baker received 105,864 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. 

Virginia State Sen. Suhas Subramanyam won the 10th Congressional District over Republican Mike W. Clancy. Subramanyam will be the first Indian-American congressman for Virginia. He also became the first Indian-American and Hindu elected to the General Assembly in 2019 after being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, according to VPM News. Subramanyam won with 210,790 votes over Clancy’s 191,897 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. 

The 11th Congressional District was taken by Democrat Gerald E. “Gerry” Connolly, who was also reelected with 267,427 votes over Republican Mike L. Van Meter who received 131,285 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

As for the Senate, Democrat incumbent Sen. Timothy M. Kaine won reelection against Republican opponent Hung Cao. Kaine received over 2.3 million votes compared to Cao’s over 1.9 million votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. Kaine received over 54% of votes and raised over $16 million during his campaign which was double Cao’s efforts, according to VPAP.

Kaine said in a post on X Nov. 8, “Virginia, thank you for putting your trust in me. In good times and bad times, I will always stand up for you.”

The current election results are unofficial and will be certified by the state on Dec. 2, according to VPM and the Virginia Department of Elections.

All facts of this story are accurate as of 4 p.m. Nov. 11.

Barber is the off campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.