Virginia Primary Voters Pick Mizusawa to Face Warner, Finalize Key US House Races

Virginians cast their ballots Tuesday in an unusually timed primary that settled a statewide Republican contest for the U.S. Senate and determined several of Virginia’s most closely watched congressional matchups for the November election.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa won the GOP’s nomination to challenge longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, while incumbents and former members of Congress emerged victorious in a number of the night’s marquee House races.

This year’s primary was held nearly two months later than usual, after Virginia lawmakers postponed the traditional June nominating contest to accommodate April’s redistricting referendum. The Supreme Court of Virginia later struck down the new map, leaving candidates to compete under the existing district lines.

U.S. Senate

Mizusawa defeated U.S. Navy veteran and political outsider David Williams with 50.71% to 29.54% of the vote, according to unofficial results reported by the Virginia Department of Elections at 8:35 p.m.

Businesswoman Kim Farington came in third with 19.75%.

A former Pentagon official, Mizusawa built his campaign around his military and public service background, emphasizing national security, military readiness, federal spending and energy policy. He advances to face Warner, who is seeking a fourth six-year term in a state that has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 2002.

1st District 

Democratic voters in the 1st Congressional District nominated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor with 53.23% of the vote.

Taylor, Henrico’s top prosecutor since 2012 and an unsuccessful 2025 candidate for attorney general, will face U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, who has represented the district since 2007.

Taylor finished ahead of public-interest attorney Salaam Bhatti (19.93%), U.S. Navy veteran and energy lobbyist Jason Knapp (9.95%), U.S. Army veteran Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs (6.71%), business lawyer Mel Tull (4.48%), environmental advocate Tim Cywinski (2.91%), and healthcare attorney Ericka Kopp (2.79%).

2nd District

Former U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria earned the Democratic nomination in the highly competitive 2nd District with 79.14% of the vote. The district remains Virginia’s most vulnerable Republican-held seat and is among 18 House races rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report.

A retired U.S. Navy commander, Luria represented the district for two terms before losing to Republican Jan Kiggans in 2022. Tuesday’s victory sets up a rematch with Kiggans.

Luria defeated physician Nila Devanath (17.53%), physicist and veteran official Bill Fleming (2.07%), and former U.S. Agency for International Development employee Patrick Mosolf (1.26%).

5th District

Voters in the 5th District settled competitive primaries in both parties.

First-term Republican U.S. Rep. John McGuire of Goochland secured his renomination with 85.74% of the vote, defeating Marine veteran and business owner Melanie Lucero (14.26%).

McGuire, a former Navy SEAL and state delegate, narrowly defeated then-U.S. Rep. Bob Good in the 2024 Republican primary before winning the seat that November.

On the Democratic side, former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello prevailed with 78.24% of the vote.

Perriello represented the district from 2009 to 2011, later sought the governorship in 2017 and served in diplomatic posts during the Obama and Biden administrations. He defeated physician Suzanne Krzyzanowski (15.49%) and writer Robert Tracinski (6.27%) and will face McGuire this fall.

7th District

In the 7th District, Republican voters selected Douglas Ollivant with 56.42% of the vote to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman of Woodbridge in November.

A retired U.S. Army officer and national security analyst, Ollivant campaigned on domestic manufacturing, energy production, job growth and reducing federal regulation.

He finished ahead of entrepreneur Philip Harding (30.77%) and pastor and construction company owner Rick Smithers (12.81%). Vindman, also a retired Army officer, was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

8th District

Six-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Beyer of Alexandria turned back four primary challengers in the 8th District, winning 66.89% of the vote.

Beyer, a former Virginia lieutenant governor and U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, has represented Northern Virginia in Congress since 2015 and has focused recently on clean energy, artificial intelligence, and assistance for displaced federal workers.

He defeated former Alexandria City Councilman and U.S. Labor Department attorney Mo Seifeldein (18.12%), former CIA officer and Marine veteran Adam Dunigan (9.22%), former U.S. State Department employee Michael Duffin (3.26%), and Stafford County teacher Lorena Bruner (2.51%).

Beyer advances to face Republican Tony Sabio, who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination.

9th District

Bedford County farmer and small-business owner Joy Powers captured the Democratic nomination with 49.30% of the vote in Virginia’s heavily Republican 9th District. Powers brings a background in agricultural development, foster care advocacy, and leadership of the Bedford County Fair.

She will challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith of Salem, who has represented the district since 2011 and was unopposed.

Powers defeated Software developer Adam Murphy (38.50%) and United Methodist pastor and attorney Douglas Crockett (12.20%).

10th District

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Beckwith won the Republican nomination in the 10th District with 72.50% of the vote.

Beckwith, who has centered his campaign on national security and government management, will face first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Loudoun County in November.

Beckwith defeated Fairfax County teacher and former state Senate candidate Julie Perry, who received 20.33% of the vote, national security and economics professional Anthony Suttles (5.54%), and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Sam Wong (1.63%). Subramanyam was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

The winners of Tuesday’s primary contest will go head-to-head in the midterm elections, set for Nov. 3.

Uncontested nominations

Additional candidates who faced no primary opposition also secured their party’s nomination Tuesday, completing the lineup for Virginia’s remaining congressional races.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott of Newport News will face Republican Ed Rivera in the 3rd District. Scott, the dean of Virginia’s congressional delegation, has represented the Hampton Roads-based seat since 1993.

No Republican filed to challenge U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, in the heavily Democratic-leaning 4th District. McClellan has held the seat since winning a 2023 special election.

Republican U.S. Rep. Ben Cline of Botetourt County will take on Democrat Beth Macy in the 6th District, while U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Fairfax, will face Republican Arthur Purves in the 11th.

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

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