This is a developing story — statistics and voter turnout are as of Tuesday evening. This article will be updated with final data once results are verified.
Incumbent Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds defeated Republican nominee Phillip Hamilton to win Virginia’s District 11 State Senate seat. With 93 percent of votes reported, Deeds led with a 66 percent majority as of 11:36 p.m. Tuesday night.
Deeds, Democratic candidate and state senator since 2001, ran on a platform focused on mental health reform, healthcare accessibility, abortion access and gun control. He also aims to increase educational funding and access to affordable higher education.
Republican candidate and paralegal Philip Hamilton lost after receiving 34 percent of the vote. Hamilton aimed to set term limits for career politicians and restrictions on campaign finance from companies. His platform also opposed “promotion of gender fluidity” and Critical Race Theory education in schools.
The City of Charlottesville is part of the 54th House of Delegates District, representing Charlottesville and parts of Albemarle County. Democratic candidate Katrina Callsen, current deputy city attorney for Charlottesville and chair of the Albemarle County School Board, ran unopposed for the 54th District House of Delegates seat.
Her platform focuses on women’s rights, increased gun control, greater investment in public education and expanded access to higher education, as well as access to affordable housing.
The other positions on the City of Charlottesville ballot were all unopposed. The three open City Council Seats will be filled by Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook, Council Member Michael Payne and Natalie Oschrin, a wedding sales manager at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards.
Also on the ballot were two open seats for Charlottesville Soil and Water Conservation Director. Joseph Johnson, who has served in the position since 2016, ran as the only candidate and will fill the position again. The second seat will be filled by whoever received the most write-in votes, assuming they are qualified for the position.
The four open seats on the Charlottesville School Board will be filled by Chris Meyer, a renewable energy project developer who lost an election for the seat in 2019, Amanda Burns, a member of the Walker-Buford Parent Teacher Association and healthcare administrator, Nicole Richardson, a homeless prevention administrator with The Haven and Shymora Cooper, a housing counselor with Piedmont Housing Alliance.
Albemarle’s Jack Jouett District is part of the 55th House of Delegates District, which represents parts of Albemarle, Louisa, Nelson and Fluvanna Counties. Democratic candidate Amy Laufer received 61 percent of votes for the House of Delegates race, defeating Republican candidate Steve Harvey, who received 39 percent of votes.
Laufer, previously a member of Charlottesville’s City School Board, aims to protect abortion rights, reduce carbon emissions and increase investment in education. She also supports increased gun control and healthcare accessibility.
In the race for the Albemarle School Board, candidate Allison Spillman defeated candidate Meg Bryce with 56 percent of votes versus 44 percent of votes, respectively.
Spillman currently serves on the board of directors for Reclaimed Hope Initiative, a faith-based organization working with families navigating adoption, foster care and caring for children with disabilities.
Jon Zug was elected for a second term as Clerk of Court, an eight-year position that manages land and court records as well as general court functioning for Albemarle County.
Incumbent Jim Hingley was elected for Albemarle Commonwealth’s Attorney position, which manages prosecuting criminal and traffic offenses. Incumbent Chan Bryant was elected for another term as Albemarle Sheriff, and Steven Meeks and Mark Wastler were elected to the two Albemarle Soil and Water Conservation seats.
Albemarle County includes 84,800 registered voters — 40,596 ballots were cast, with a voter turnout of around 48 percent. The City of Charlottesville has 33,869 registered voters and had a voter turnout of roughly 34 percent, with 11,493 ballots cast.
For the second year in a row, the University canceled all undergraduate classes to facilitate student voting. Student Council provided free rides to early voting locations and Election Day polling places through Charlottesville Yellow Cab. Students for Equity and Reform in Virginia at U.Va. also provided free golf-cart rides to on-Grounds voting locations.
Fourth-year College student Elizabeth Paul said that she appreciated same-day voter registration, a policy which began in 2022 under which voters may register on Election Day.
“I liked that we can do same day voter registration now because it's been easy — we moved from our places we lived at last year and hadn’t updated our addresses so it was really easy,” Paul said.
Maeron Kebede, policy chair of University Democrats and fourth-year Batten student, also said the University has made changes to encourage student voting.
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