Voters in multiple Central Virginia counties to soon choose new senator in special election
GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Several counties across Central Virginia are preparing to cast their ballots in a special election for a recently-vacated seat in Virginia's Senate. Early voting in this 10th District special election began on Dec. 27, 2024 and will end on Jan. 4. The election will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 7. District 10 includes all of Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Cumberland, Goochland, Fluvanna and Powhatan counties, as well as certain parts of Hanover, Henrico, Louisa and Prince Edward counties. Qualifying voters in these counties can cast their ballots for who they'd like to replace former Virginia senator John McGuire (R-Va.), who resigned in order to replace former U.S. representative Bob Good (R-Va.) in the U.S. House of Representatives. McGuire unseated Good during the 2024 General Election. PREVIOUS: Virginia certifies 2024 General Election results The special election was called for in a December order following McGuire's resignation. Republican Luther Cifers, a businessman from Prince Edward County, and Democrat and professor Jack Trammel are facing off for the chance to occupy the position he vacated. 01-07-2025-Sen-of-VA-10-Special-Election-OrderDownload "Cifer is somebody who was able to defeat longstanding political figures in the Republican Party [to] win the nomination," said professor and 8News political analyst Rich Meagher. “He [Trammell] is a Democrat -- a rural Democrat, in a district that has been very, very red for the past years. So, he's got a really, really tough battle to try to win over voters in his district." Meagher said that there could be a lot at stake in this election. Not only is the district itself large, but there are only 40 Senate districts to begin with. “And it's an important seat, because it's [that of] a member of the Virginia Senate,” Meagher said. “Those terms are four years long. So there's still another two and a half years [of] this Senate term. So it's not like someone who's going to run and then be done in a few months -- [it's a] really substantive amount of time.” Virginia voter turnout down across the board this election, especially in ‘blue’ localities Meagher added that these types of elections and their results are just as important as larger races -- like the presidential election -- yet they are often overshadowed. “Turnout should be fairly low -- again, in part, because this is such a red district," Meagher said. "Even Republicans might not turn out to vote for Cifers if they feel like he's got it in the bag.” What underscores that importance is the fact that, in local elections, the issues that motivate voters are closer to home. “There's lots of concerns that rural Virginians have and that both parties tend to not pay as much attention to it as they should," Meagher said. "And this election might bring at least a little attention.” The candidate who wins this seat will remain there until the next election in 2027.
VENN
GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Several counties across Central Virginia are preparing to cast their ballots in a special election for a recently-vacated seat in Virginia's Senate.
Early voting in this 10th District special election began on Dec. 27, 2024 and will end on Jan. 4. The election will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
District 10 includes all of Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Cumberland, Goochland, Fluvanna and Powhatan counties, as well as certain parts of Hanover, Henrico, Louisa and Prince Edward counties.
Qualifying voters in these counties can cast their ballots for who they'd like to replace former Virginia senator John McGuire (R-Va.), who resigned in order to replace former U.S. representative Bob Good (R-Va.) in the U.S. House of Representatives. McGuire unseated Good during the 2024 General Election.
PREVIOUS: Virginia certifies 2024 General Election results
The special election was called for in a December order following McGuire's resignation.
Republican Luther Cifers, a businessman from Prince Edward County, and Democrat and professor Jack Trammel are facing off for the chance to occupy the position he vacated.
"Cifer is somebody who was able to defeat longstanding political figures in the Republican Party [to] win the nomination," said professor and 8News political analyst Rich Meagher. “He [Trammell] is a Democrat -- a rural Democrat, in a district that has been very, very red for the past years. So, he's got a really, really tough battle to try to win over voters in his district."
Meagher said that there could be a lot at stake in this election. Not only is the district itself large, but there are only 40 Senate districts to begin with.
“And it's an important seat, because it's [that of] a member of the Virginia Senate,” Meagher said. “Those terms are four years long. So there's still another two and a half years [of] this Senate term. So it's not like someone who's going to run and then be done in a few months -- [it's a] really substantive amount of time.”
Virginia voter turnout down across the board this election, especially in ‘blue’ localities
Meagher added that these types of elections and their results are just as important as larger races -- like the presidential election -- yet they are often overshadowed.
“Turnout should be fairly low -- again, in part, because this is such a red district," Meagher said. "Even Republicans might not turn out to vote for Cifers if they feel like he's got it in the bag.”
What underscores that importance is the fact that, in local elections, the issues that motivate voters are closer to home.
“There's lots of concerns that rural Virginians have and that both parties tend to not pay as much attention to it as they should," Meagher said. "And this election might bring at least a little attention.”
The candidate who wins this seat will remain there until the next election in 2027.
