Delegates Adams, Bagby retain party nominations as voters mostly stay home in primary elections

Henrico voters – the few who showed up Tuesday or cast absentee ballots – helped determine party nominees for Virginia House of Delegates races in three districts and for the top three statewide candidates on the Democratic ticket during Virginia’s primary election.

In the House of Delegates races involving the county, two incumbents – Democrats Dawn Adams (68th District) and Lamont Bagby (74th District) – claimed their party nominations easily and will attempt to win third terms this fall.

Adams registered a comfortable win against attorney Kyle Elliott, garnering more than 61% of the vote to earn the nomination in a district that includes just four Henrico precincts, 16 Richmond precincts and 11 Chesterfield precincts. Bagby easily outdistanced challenger John Dantzler in his race, earning more than 91% of the vote in his district, which includes 29 Henrico precincts and 9 in Richmond.

In the November general election, Adams will face Republican challenger Mark Earley, Jr., who defeated Mike Dickinson by a margin similar to Bagby's (91% to 9%) to win the party’s nomination.

Bagby will face Republican challenger Jim Brooks in November.

In the inverted U-shaped 72nd District, wholly contained within Henrico County and spanning Lakeside, the I-295 corridor through Glen Allen and Innsbrook and portions of the Tuckahoe District along the James River, voters in the Republican primary selected Christopher Holmes over Tom Gardner in a battle of political newcomers. Holmes, who earned about 70% of the 1,518 votes cast, now will try to unseat two-term Democratic Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg in November.

Voter turnout in Henrico was predictably minuscule and skewed heavily toward the Democratic primaries, because of the statewide elections. (Republicans already had selected their nominees for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general). All of the nearly 238,000 registered voters in Henrico were eligible to vote in the Democratic primary, and more than 27,000 (or nearly 11.5% of eligible voters) did so. On the Republican side, only those 64,000 or so in the two contested House Districts were eligible to vote, and only 1,643 of them did so (about 2.5%). Those numbers. Fewer than 3,000 people voted absentee in person, according to Henrico Registrar Mark Coakley.

In Virginia, any registered voter whose precinct is involved in a primary election can cast a ballot, regardless of whether or not he or she is affiliated with the party. But voters must pick one primary or the other – they can't cast ballots in both.

In the last primary elections two years ago, there were two Republican primary races involving portions of Henrico (the 68th District and Three Chopt District supervisor), and the overall turnout in eligible precincts was 7.5%. There also were three Democratic primary races that year (for Henrico sheriff, Fairfield supervisor and 12th District Senate), and the overall turnout in eligible precincts was 8.59%. The county appeared headed for similar totals Tuesday.

Three other Virginia House districts that include Henrico – the 56th, 70th and 73rd – didn’t require primaries, because there were not multiple candidates in either party. In November, incumbent Republican John McGuire will face Democratic challenger Blakely Lockhart in the 56th District race, while incumbent 72nd District Democrat Rodney Willett again will face Republican Mary Margaret Kastelberg, the challenger he defeated two years ago to earn the seat.

In the 70th District, Democrat Delores McQuinn will face two independents – William Hawkins and David Vaught – in November.

McAuliffe, Ayala, Herring win Democratic primaries for statewide offices

At the state level, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe easily earned the Democratic nomination to vie for the governor's seat again, defeating four challengers by a wide margin; he earned more than 62% of the vote, while the next closest candidate (Jennifer Carroll Foy) had just 20%. State Senator Jennifer McClellan, who represents a portion of Henrico, was third with more than 11%.

Among Henrico voters, McAuliffe earned about 59% of the vote, while McClellan received about 21% and Carroll Foy 15%.

Delegate Hala Ayala claimed the party's nomination for lieutenant governor, defeating six challengers by earning about 37% of the vote. Ayala was boosted earlier this spring by the endorsement of Gov. Ralph Northam. In Henrico, she received 47% of the vote, followed by Sam Rasoul's 20%.

And two-term incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring claimed the party's nomination again, fending off a strong challenge from Delegate Jay Jones and winning by a margin of 56% to 43%. In Henrico, Jones received slightly more of the vote, 50.5% to 49.4%.