Early voting begins Friday for Congressional primaries

Virginia is a state that has a general election every November. This year, there are two sets of primaries with the second coming up in just a few weeks. 

The ballot for the June 18 primary is fairly crowded with Congressional candidates vying for a chance at representing their party in the fall. Early voting begins on Friday. 

Jennifer Lewis-Fowler is the registrar in Greene County and she briefed the Board of Supervisors last week. 

“It’s a dual primary so you can vote in either the Democratic primary or the Republican,” Lewis-Fowler said. 

Greene County is in the 7th Congressional District as is a very small sliver of Albemarle County.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project. Incumbent Abigail Spanberger is running for Governor of Virginia in the 2025 election and there are six Republicans and seven Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for the fall for the 7th District. Check out VPAP if you would like to know those details. 

Senator Tim Kaine faces no opponents on the ballot in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.

There are five Republican challengers hoping to be the nominee. They are:

• Hung Cao has raised $2,032,953
• Jonathan Walker Emord has raised $808,722
• Eddie Garcia has raised $298,802
• Scott Parkinson has raised $841,133
• Chuck Smith has raised $509,949

Turning to the Fifth Congressional District, Incumbent Bob Good faces a primary challenge from Senator John McGuire. McGuire announced his candidacy just eight days after being elected to the Senate to represent District 10. 

As of March 31, Good had raised a total of $855,792 and McGuire had raised $502,747. In his campaign ads, McGuire argues that Good is a Republican in Name Only, a commonly used derogatory phrase that does not hold up if you look at voting records and policies. Good initially backed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for President. 

There are three Democrats, and only one had raised any money as of March 31. Gloria Tinsley Witt has raised a total of $12,510. Neither Paul Riley or Gary Terry have raised any money. 

The Republican and Democratic nominations for the presidential race have already taken place. Democratic incumbent Joe Biden received 88.5 percent of the vote and former President Donald Trump received 63 percent of the vote. 

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