Three incumbent prosecutors in Northern Virginia who faced tough challenges after being elected four years ago on a progressive reform agenda were projected to win their Democratic primaries.
In Loudoun County, Buta Biberaj won Tuesday over challenger Elizabeth Lancaster. In Arlington County, incumbent Parisa Dehghani-Tafti defeated Josh Katcher, a former deputy in her office. Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano held off a challenge from Ed Nuttall.
The winners in Tuesday's primary will face off in a November general election that will decide control of the closely divided General Assembly. Republicans are aiming for a complete lock on the commonwealth’s legislative agenda by winning back the state Senate, which Democrats now control by a 22-18 majority. In 2021, Republicans won a narrow 52-48 majority in the House of Delegates and swept every statewide constitutional office.
Virginia is one of just a handful of states with legislative elections this year. The unusual election cycle and Virginia’s quasi-swing state status mean the races often draw outsized attention as a potential bellwether for future national races.
Get the latest results here.
What we know so far on Northern Virginia's commonwealth's attorneys results
Commonwealth’s attorneys in Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties all had in-party Democratic challengers.
Biberaj, the projected winner in Loudoun County, raised significantly more money, but Lancaster had earned the endorsement of The Washington Post. Biberaj faced criticism, including some within her own party, over her day-to-day management of the office and as Loudoun found itself in the national spotlight over issues including school safety. She also faced criticism in her handling of two sex assaults at two different high schools in 2021.
In November, Biberaj will face Republican Bob Anderson, who held the commonwealth attorney's post in Loudoun more than 20 years ago.
Biberaj told the Associated Press the general election race “will be about Loudoun County going forward or going backward 20 or 30 years.”
In Arlington County, incumbent Dehghani-Tafti defeated challenger Katcher, who had been one of Dehghani-Tafti’s deputies before leaving the office. Dehghani-Tafti is overwhelmingly favored in heavily Democratic Arlington County in November.
Biberaj and Dehghani-Tafti's races were two of three in northern Virginia where candidates elected in 2019 as reformers faced primary challenges in which the challengers themselves largely embraced reform efforts and focused criticism on issues of day-to-day office management.
In Fairfax County, Descano defeated Ed Nuttall, a former prosecutor and trial attorney best known for representing police officers accused of misconduct.
“We went before the people of this county in a referendum where, quite frankly, the GOP was against us, a lot of money came in against us, and we bet on the people of Fairfax County, and they came through, because I think they saw that we’ve been successful, that we can have a safe community and also treat people fairly and justly,” Descano said.
What we know so far on other races to watch
The election results in the House of Delegates and state Senate were expected to be dramatic, with high turnover in both chambers.
Democrats running for state Senate:
District 33 (southern Fairfax and northern Prince William): Former delegate and gubernatorial hopeful Jennifer Carroll Foy is projected to win over former delegate and lieutenant governor nominee Hala Ayala, who was trying to get back into the legislature.
District 29 (southern Prince William and northern Stafford): Del. Elizabeth Guzman challenged incumbent Sen. Jeremy McPike. The race was still too close to call.
District 37 (eastern Fairfax): Longtime senator Chap Petersen, first elected in 2007 after serving two terms in the House of Delegates, faced Saddam Salim, a more progressive candidate. The race was still too close to call.
Republican running for state Senate:
District 1 (Winchester, Clarke, Frederick, Warren, Shenandoah): Timmy French, a farmer from Shenandoah County, won this newly created seat that attracted longtime Republican Del. Dave LaRock to run. It was a crowded contest with eight candidates. LaRock began serving as a delegate in 2014.
Arlington County Board:
All votes were counted. None of the six candidates got 34% of the vote in the ranked-choice voting, so it goes to a second round. Susan Cunningham, Natalie Roy and Maureen Coffee were in the lead.
How long does vote counting usually take?
In the 2022 general election, the vote count in Virginia lasted 10 days in some counties, but the updates were relatively small in the days after election day.
Mail-in ballots are accepted until Friday if they were postmarked by election day,
Get the latest results here.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
