tr?id=&ev=PageView&noscript=

Democrats, Republicans nominate candidates in Northern Virginia special election

By Michael O'Connor

November 18, 2024

The outcome of the high-stakes race in Loudoun County will help determine control of the narrowly divided Virginia Senate.

Democrats and Republicans nominated candidates over the weekend to run in a special election in Northern Virginia that will help determine who controls the Virginia Senate. 

Del. Kannan Srinivasan won the Democratic primary on Saturday to run in the special election for Virginia Senate District 32 to represent part of Loudoun County. Srinivasan beat five other candidates to run for the seat formerly held by Democrat Suhas Subramanyam, who resigned from the seat to serve in Congress and endorsed Srinivasan. 

Republicans on Saturday nominated Tumay Harding to challenge Srinivasan for the Senate seat. Harding describes herself as an advocate for “parents rights,” a term associated with the conservative push to ban books in schools and change school curriculum. She also ran and lost a campaign in 2023 to serve as a Loudoun County Supervisor. 

The special election will be held on Jan. 7, 2025, just before the Virginia General Assembly session starts. It’s an important race because Democrats currently have a slight 21-19 edge in the Senate over Republicans. Democrats have an advantage given that the district leans strongly their way, but Republicans are expected to put up a fight given the high stakes. 

Democrats need to win to be able to advance the constitutional amendments they are pushing this year related to reproductive freedom, voting rights, and marriage equality. Should Republicans win the seat and create a 20-20 split in the Senate, then they would have effective control of the chamber. Ties in the Senate are broken by the Lieutenant Governor, an office currently held by Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. 

Another special election will be held to fill the seat held by Republican John McGuire, who will vacate his seat representing Virginia’s Senate District 10 in central Virginia to serve in Congress representing Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. The date for this election has yet to be set.

  • Michael O'Connor

    Michael is an award-winning journalist who has been covering Virginia news since 2013 with reporting stints at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Business, and Richmond BizSense. A graduate of William & Mary and Northern Virginia Community College, he also covered financial news for S&P Global Market Intelligence.

CATEGORIES: LOCAL NEWS

Support Our Cause

Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Virginians and our future.

Since day one, our goal here at Dogwood has always been to empower people across the commonwealth with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Virginia families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.

Amie Knowles
Amie Knowles, Community Editor
Your support keeps us going
Help us continue delivering fact-based news to Virginians
Related Stories
Share This