In the other legislative primary, former Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer has won a decisive victory over Kellen Squire in House District 55.
Both candidates had previously been unsuccessful Democratic nominees for legislative races in the past, but Laufer is the party’s choice for an open seat with nearly 70 percent of the vote. She placed third in a race for two City Council seats in 2017. Two years later she lost a close race against Republican Bryce Reeves in 2019 for Senate District 17.
Laufer was first elected to the Charlottesville School Board in 2011 and 2015. She’ll now face a Republican candidate. Both Steve Harvey and Reid Werning filed paperwork, but Harvey made a public announcement on Monday.
In 2017, Squire was the Democratic nominee against Republican Rob Bell in the former House District 58. Bell won with 61.2 percent of the vote. This year, Bell opted to not seek re-election.
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