LEESBURG, Va. — The results of the Virginia primary signal the end of the primary season for the DMV. Now all eyes turn to November.
Northern Virginia has two open congressional seats that could decide the balance of power in Washington. But it looks like that wasn’t enough to spark turnout.
In Leesburg, Virginia, the Juneteenth celebrations started with a parade, followed by ceremonies meant to mark emancipation.
“It’s the first day that I can remember that Juneteenth is after Election Day,” Loudoun Co. NAACP President, Pastor Michelle Thomas said.
But, Thomas said there is one spoil on this year’s festivities.
“We are celebrating freedom, and then the day before we didn’t take advantage of freedom,” she said.
Low voter turnout plagued the Virginia primaries, even in Loudoun County.
In Northern Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Elections data, only three localities saw more than 10% of the voters turnout yesterday: Arlington County and the cities of Manassas and Alexandria.
“I worked the polls and it was pretty slow – at least in my precinct,” Barb Moody said.
It appears there were almost more candidates running for the 10th District seat than voters.
“There was a lot (of candidates) I never heard of half of them,” Moody said.
From the crowded field of 12 Democrats, Suhas Subramanyam won. On the Republican side Mike Clancy emerged victorious.
The other big race in Virginia was the 7th District seat Democrat Eugene Vindman got the nod and Republican Derrick Anderson won out.
“I’m looking forward to November, but you can be kind of shocked because you don’t know the way people are going,” one voter told us.
Now the race is set for the two open Virginia seats. They could determine which party holds the house in 2025. On Juneteenth, Pastor Thomas had a message for Northern Virginia voters: use your freedom to vote.
“What we do in November could dictate if we have freedom at all-for many in this country,” she said.