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Democratic performance down in Virginia, even for reelected candidates

After a turbulent and historic Election Day, most results are in across the commonwealth. From the White House to Town Council, here’s the Virginia Department of Elections’ unofficial results for how locals voted in the 2024 election.

Amid a disappointing night for Democrats, Virginia’s 13 electoral votes went to Vice President Kamala Harris. Voters in Charlottesville and Albemarle leaned heavily blue across the board, with roughly 84 percent and 66 percent of the respective electorates casting their ballots for Harris. Surrounding counties generally leaned toward Donald Trump.

While Harris won Virginia with 52 percent of the vote, she fell short of Biden’s 2020 performance of 54 percent in the commonwealth. Her underperformance in Virginia mirrors the broader results of the election, with Trump sweeping all seven swing states.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine won reelection to a third term in the U.S. Senate, receiving 54.3 percent to challenger Hung Cao’s 45.5 percent. Support for Kaine was down 2 percent statewide compared to 2018, but the incumbent still had ample support in metro areas, including Charlottesville. Almost 85 percent of Charlottesville voters cast their ballot for Kaine, alongside approximately 66.5 percent of the Albemarle electorate.

Voters in both the 5th and 7th congressional districts have new congressmen, with incumbents in neither district on the ballot November 5.

In the 5th District, Republican up-and-comer John McGuire bested Democrat Gloria Witt by roughly 14 points, winning 56.7 percent of the vote. The result was expected despite Charlottesville and Albemarle both leaning heavily toward Witt. The district spans much of the south central part of the state to the North Carolina border, and heavily favors Republican candidates despite the inclusion of Charlottesville. Incumbent Rep. Bob Good will vacate the seat in January 2025.

A small portion of Albemarle and surrounding counties are in the 7th District, which narrowly chose Eugene Vindman (D) over Derrick Anderson (R). While Vindman received approximately 51.1 percent of the vote, the Albemarle portion of VA-7 leaned heavily Republican this election cycle.

At press time, party control of the House of Representatives was still too close to call.

Looking down-ballot, localities largely stuck with the status quo. In the Rio Magisterial District, Albemarle voters elected appointee Chuck Pace to serve out the remaining year of now-Del. Katrina Callsen’s term on the school board. The seat will be back on the ballot next fall for a regular election.

Orange County had multiple Town Council races this year, with Emily Winkey and Stevean Irving II elected to council in Gordonsville and James Cluff and Delmer Seal Jr. elected to council in the town of Orange.

In Scottsville, the mayoral race was still too close to call at press time, with current Mayor Ron Smith ahead by two votes in the deadlocked race. Results are expected in the coming days, with the statewide deadline for certification on November 15.

Beyond the handful of uncontested elections across the commonwealth, Virginians also found common ground on the constitutional amendment on the ballot. Roughly 93 percent of voters approved for the state constitution to expand a tax exemption to surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty.

Unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections were collected by C-VILLE at 2:30pm on November 11. Exact data may continue to change until results are formally certified.