As of 10 a.m., Nov. 4, Mark Warner (D) has been declared the winner of the U.S. Senate election in Virginia. This will be Warner’s third term in the U.S. Senate. He won with 55.63% of the vote compared to Republican Daniel Gade who received 44.28% of the vote. Warner received 2,332,363 votes compared to Gade who received 1,856,394 votes.
Junior Hunter Nordberg was a fellow with the Virginia Coordinated Campbell Campaign and worked on several Democratic campaigns in Virginia. “I was responsible for helping get out the vote through texting, calling, door-to-door literature drops and attending events,” Nordberg said. He was also a data reporting captain in Hampton for the get out the vote efforts.
Nordberg’s main reason for supporting Warner was his endorsement of Amendment 1. “Amendment 1 is a proposed amendment to change how redistricting is done in Virginia. It gives the power of redistricting to a bipartisan commission instead of the state legislature which should prevent partisan gerrymandering in the future,” Nordberg said.
Commenting on Warner’s chances of winning, he stated, “I was never worried about his re-election chances as he was a clear favorite from start to finish, and his race was one of the first senate races to be called in the country.”
Senior Zoe Cruz campaigned for Gade and was excited about having the opportunity to get involved in the community. “I was able to reach out to people and hear their voices and stories and connect with them on a personal level. I am extremely proud to have the opportunity to represent a candidate who is for the people,” Cruz said. “Even after walking over 4 miles a day, I wanted to go back out and spread the word about Gade.”
Additionally, Elaine Luria (D) has been declared the winner of Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. Luria was favored to win in this district by several political prediction organizations such as the Cook Political Report and FiveThirtyEight. As of 10 a.m. on Nov. 4, Luria won with 50.94% of the vote and 174,873 votes compared to her challenger, Republican Scott Taylor who received 46.49% of the vote and 159,568 votes.
Junior Anitra Howard was excited about this result. “I don’t really agree with all her policies, but her policies are a lot more liberal than Scott’s are and so I’m happy,” Howard said.
“I like that she takes a more bipartisan approach. She’s actively working toward that rather than being separatist and rather than only focusing on her party,” Howard said. “When you’re chosen to represent a district, you’re representing everyone, not just the people in your party, and so I kind of like that.”
Howard reflected on Luria’s campus visit on Oct. 6 by stating “One thing that she said that seemed a little sketchy to me was her position on the International Criminal Court (ICC). She was saying that America shouldn’t be held accountable for our actions from the ICC because it’s there to help countries who can’t necessarily bring justice for themselves. She was saying that America shouldn’t be held accountable by the ICC and I disagree with that since that’s the reason that’s there.”
For local races, the winners include Bobby Dyer for Mayor, Rosemary Wilson for City Council Member at-large, Beverly Anderson for School Board Member at-large, City Council candidates Sabrina Wooten, Jessica Abbott and Michael Berlucchi and School Board members Trenance Riggs, Jennifer Franklin and Jessica Owens.
Also, the constitutional amendments on the ballot both passed in Virginia. Amendment 1, which will hand over Virginia’s redistricting process to bipartisan, independent commission rather than be drawn by the majority party in the state legislature, was passed by voters with 65.76% of the vote. Amendment 2, which suggests the tax exemption of one vehicle of military veterans who are 100% permanently disabled due to an injury obtained while serving was passed by voters with 85.97% of the vote.
Senior Aleigha Johnson was satisfied with the results for Amendment 1. “Well gerrymandering is a huge issue in American politics that to my understanding disproportionately affects communities of color. Racism is rampant in our country because of structural policies like these and it is so important that we’re remedying them,” Johnson said. “But also in a general sense if we aren’t accurately representing our democracy then we’re doing a disservice to every single one of our citizens.”
By Connor Merk
ccmerk@vwu.edu
By Brianna Sandy
bnsandy@vwu.edu
