by Graham Moomaw
Virginia’s 45-day early voting window began Friday for the June 18 primaries that will set the stage for the state’s U.S. Senate race as well as a handful of competitive races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republicans are choosing a nominee to challenge U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. in a statewide contest this fall, and at least one party is holding a primary in six of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts.
In-person early voting is underway at all local voter registrar offices, and many localities also offer satellite early voting sites. Would-be voters can find details on their local election office on the Virginia Department of Elections website, which also offers an online citizen portal allowing voters to check their registration status, register to vote, find out which congressional district they’re in and apply for an absentee ballot to be sent through the mail. The deadline to request a mail absentee ballot is June 7.
Voters casting ballots in person will need to present an acceptable form of identification, but anyone lacking an ID will still be able to cast a provisional ballot that will only be counted if elections officials verify their eligibility later.
In districts with both a Republican and Democratic congressional primary, voters will be asked to choose a ballot for one party.
Kaine is considered a strong frontrunner in the Senate race. Virginia has voted Democratic in every presidential election year since 2008, and the five Republicans vying to compete against him in November aren’t particularly well-known.
The GOP Senate field includes former congressional candidate and U.S. Navy veteran Hung Cao, U.S. Army veteran Eddie Garcie, attorneys Jonathan Emord and Chuck Smith and Scott Parkinson, who works for the conservative economic group Club for Growth.
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2nd District
U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, is a top target for Democrats after narrowly flipping the 2nd District in 2022 by defeating former congresswoman Elaine Luria.
Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal, a Navy veteran and business owner, is being backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to take on Kiggans, but she’s facing primary competition from civil rights and constitutional law attorney Jake Denton.
