Virginia woke up to some surprising election results on Wednesday, November 8. No one predicted the ease with which Ralph Northam won the Governor’s seat and the near sweep of contested races won by challenging Democrats. The Democrats picked up at least 15 seats, maybe more, bringing the House of Delegates to a 51-49 Republican-Democrat split. There remain 4 other races that may be contested with a recount, one of them right here in the Fredericksburg region.
Republican Bob Thomas narrowly defeated Democrat Joshua Cole and stands with an 84 vote lead right now. This race is likely to head to a recount so an official winner won’t be certified for a while. The Realtor® organization will have lots of new faces to introduce themselves to over the next few months and FAAR will be hosting some events so members can get to know our new Delegate. We want to engage Delegate-elect Thomas on real estate issues in advance of the General Assembly session in January.
Bobby Orrock won reelection for his House of Delegates seat in the 54th District and Mark Cole won reelection in the 88th District. Delegates Orrock and Cole also received RPAC funds to support their races.
On the local front, every FAAR-endorsed candidate won their seat except one. FAAR applied for some extra help for candidates Kevin Marshall, Meg Bomke, and Sharon Foley, while providing RPAC support to Chris Yakabouski and Gary Skinner, and an endorsement of Cathy Binder.
- Kevin Marshall won his seat in the Berkeley District of Spotyslvania County with both RPAC funding and extra assistance with a mail piece from FAAR. We are excited to work with him and have a new face on the Board of Supervisors.
- Chris Yakabouski won his bid for reelection in the Battlefield District of Spotsylvania County with RPAC funding. We are looking forward to working with Chris on economic development and transportation issues.
- Gary Skinner won his bid for reelection in the Lee Hill District of Spotsylvania County with RPAC funding. Gary has been a long-time supporter of Realtor® -issues, working with us to expand VRE to the County in 2009.
- Cathy Binder won her seat in the Shiloh District of King George County with a FAAR endorsement. She is a new face on the Board and we are excited about building a relationship with her.
- Meg Bohmke won reelection in her seat in the Falmouth District of Stafford County with both RPAC funding and extra assistance with some digital media from FAAR. Meg has been a great supporter for her past four years and we are looking forward to continuing our good work.
- Sharon Foley ultimately did not win the Aquia District seat on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors but she ran a good campaign and we remain impressed with her concern for the County and eagerness to learn about issues. Cindy Shelton won the seat and we will work with her to provide any housing resources she may need.
In other local races, Gary Snellings won reelection in the Hartwood District and Mark Dudenhefer narrowly defeated Laura Sellers in the Garrisonville District for the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.