Welcome to our Election Live post for the June 2025 primary. I’ll be posting notes and observations about the primary voting here through the afternoon and evening. If you like politics, you should sign up for West of the Capital, our free weekly political newsletter that goes out on Fridays:
10:16 pm.: Hashmi claims victory
I see nothing in the returns to dipute that. Still some votes out but I don’t see where either Stoney or Rouse can make up the gap. She’s got 27.39% of the vote to 26.64% for Stoney and 26.32% for Rouse.
10:10 p.m.: Cornett wins Republican House nomination
It’s official or as official as things can be at this point. All the votes are in and it’s Mitchell Cornett 1,609, Adam Tolbert 1,344 for the House District 46 nomination in Southwest Virginia.
10:06 pm.: Jones wins attorney general nomination
He’s got it. In a sign of how close the race was though, an over-eager Democratic operative without a copy editor has just out an email blast with this subject line:
DPVA Chairman Lamont Bagby Congratulates [NAME] on Winning Democratic Nomination for Attorney General
9:45 p.m.: Here’s what’s still out
I think Hashmi has this. We have only 75 precincts out and they’re mostly in her best localities. Of those, 21 are in Bedford County, which she carried but won’t have that many Democratic votes. Another 7 are in Henrico County, which she also carried but will have more votes.
9:38 p.m.: Fairfax County vote now mostly in
Hashmi appears to have won the county narrowly, which helps her maintain a narrow statewide lead. Taylor won Fairfax but doesn’t seem to have won it by enough to make up her statewide deficit. LG’s race could still go any direction but looking more likely this will be Hashmi and Jones.
9:34 p.m.: Hashmi back out in front
Well, before I could figure out where Rouse’s vote surge was coming from Hahmi has pulled ahead again. Exciting.
9:32 p.m.: Rouse now out in front
Aaron Rouse, who has been sitting in third place most of the evening in the lieutenant governor primary, has now pulled ahead. I’ll confess I’d counted him out. Looking now to see where that vote is coming from. Update: It was from most of Virginia Beach dropping at once.
9:27 p.m.: Cornett will win
Mitchell Cornett is going to win the Republican nomination in House District 46 and get an easy route to Richmond in a bright red district. He’s currently up by 348 votes with 202 early votes yet to be counted.
9:23 p.m.: Whittle wins but Democratic race still close
In House District 49 in the Danville area, Madison Whittle has won the Republican primary by a landslide with 85.34% of the vote. But Gary Miller’s lead in the Democratic primary is tenuous; he’s got a 175-vote lead with 200 early votes to be counted. It seems likely he’ll win but that’s not an impressive margin.
9:18 p.m.: Cornett seems likely to win
In House District 46, we’re just waiting on the Konnarock precinct in Smyth County (which is small) and 202 early votes in Smyth. Mitchell Cornett holds a lead of 379 votes. It seems unlikely that those outstanding votes will make up that margin, even if Tolbert has been winning Smyth, his home county, with 71% of the vote. We’ll see.
9:12 p.m.: All three House incumbents with challengers have won
That’s Republican Terry Austin in Botetourt, Democrats Patrick Hope in Arlington and Delores McGuinn in Henrico County. None were close.
9:09 p.m.: Incumbent supervisors ousted in Botetourt, Craig and Floyd
While we’re waiting on more statewide numbers: Three incumbent supervisors have lost their re-nomination bids. Linda Rottman defeated Amy White in Botetourt, Walter Phillips defeated Kalinda Bechtold in Floyd and Shaun Van Dyke defeated Jason Matyas in Floyd.
Incumbent Todd King has won in Montgomery County; still waiting on results out of Bedford County where an incumbent faced a challenger.
8:55 p.m.: This may take awhile
Hashmi and Jones still hold narrow leads but it’s not over yet. However, I’m having a hard time seeing a path for Stoney if he doesn’t turn things around in his home city of Richmond. Taylor has a better path but needs a big margin out of what’s outstanding in Fairfax County.
8:35 p.m.: Here’s what’s still out
It’s time to start looking at what votes are still out. The county I keep coming back to is Fairfax County, where only the early vote has reported. That went narrowly for Levar Stoney and Shannon Taylor, both of whom now trail narrowly. If the Fairfax day-of vote went the way the early vote did, that could change both races.
Here’s what I else I notice:
- Most of Richmond is still out. So far that’s going for Hashmi (by a wide margin) and Taylor (by an oh so narrow one). Update: Now Jones is winning in Richmond, narrowly.
- Most of Henrico County, which is going for Hashmi and Taylor.
- Most of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, both of which are going for Rouse and Jones.
That seems a lot still out that going could either way but I’m thinking Taylor needs a really good vote out of Fairfax.
8:32 p.m.: Whittle and Miller take early leads
Republican Madison Whittle and Democrat Gary Miller are leading their respective primaries in House District 49 in the Danville area. If they both win, as appears likely, that would mean two Danville council members facing off in the fall.
8:27 p.m.: If Hashmi wins, it may be because of Richmond
With 20 of 72 precincts reorting, Ghazala Hashmi is thumping Levar Stoney in Richmond, where Stoney served as mayor. It’s early and I know Richmond is often a polarized city, but so far she’s taking 65% of the vote there to his 14%. That doesn’t seem good for him.
8:22 p.m.: Hashmi pulls narrowly ahead in Democratic LG race
It’s now Hashmi, Stoney, Rouse. I feel confident in saying Rouse isn’t going to win this, but it could go either way between Hashmi and Stoney.
8:19 p.m.: Cornett leads but most of Tolbert’s county still out
Mitchell Cornett leads with 55.94% of the vote but the outstanding precincts are all from Smyth County, Tolbert’s home county, where he’s taking 77.44% of the vote — plus the early vote from Grayson County, Cornett’s home county. Cornett has been winning 79.22% there.
8:09 p.m.: Littlepage wins right to face McNamara
Donna Littlepage has won the Democratic nomination in House District 41 in the Roanoke Valley, with 63.15% of the vote over Kiesha Preston. That means Littlepage will represent Demoocrats in the fall campaign against Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, in a strongly Republican district that covers Salem and parts of Roanoke and Roanoke County.
8:04 p.m. Cornett leads Tolbert; but lots still out
Cornett has carried Wythe County. With all 11 precincts reporting, and all the early votes counted, he took 52.08% of the vote there. What’s out now are votes in Smyth (Adam Tolbert’s home county) and Grayson’s (Cornett’s). Overall, Cornett has 61.76% of the vote with 27 of 41 precincts reporting.
7:59 p.m.: What to look for in the AG’s race
Jay Jones holds a narrow lead over Shannon Taylor but it’s “tighter than a tick,” as we say in the country. Here’s what I notice: The only votes reporting from Fairfax County are the early votes, which narrowly went Taylor’s way. That’s potentially a lot of votes out in what could be a pro-Taylor county.
7:57 p.m.: Austin has big lead
Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County, the only Republican incumbent to draw a challenger, appears headed for a big win. He’s pulling 90% of the vote in some precincts. VPAP shows votes in Botetourt, with better numbers for challenger Austin Schwend, but doesn’t say where they come from.
7:49 p.m.: Cornett takes lead over Tolbert
Here’s the key right now: Mitchell Cornett is beating Adam Tolbert in Wythe County, taking 52% of the vote there so far, with 7 of 11 precincts reporting. Each candidate is winning their home county big (Grayson for Cornett, Smyth for Tolbert). I’ve always felt whoever won Wythe would win overall. We’ll see.
7:42 p.m.: Stoney racking up the vote in Southside
If Levar Stoney wins (and right now he holds a very slim lead), part of that will be due to his winning big in the rural counties of eastern Southside that have large Black populations. Take Brunswick County, which is 53% Black. With 11 of 13 precincts reporting, Stoney is taking 73.24% of the vote to 11.80% for Ghazala Hashmi. The other Black candidate, Aaron Rouse, is taking just 9.5% of the vote there. He surely hoped to do better there.
7:37 p.m.: Bastani’s trip to Southwest pays off
Alex Bastani is running a distant fifth in the LG race but he’s currently ahead in both Dickenson and Russell counties. He paid a trip there the weekend before the voting, apparently the only Democratic candidate to do so this cycle, and that seems to have paid off, although the numbers are quite low, of course.
7:32 p.m.: The first votes in Cornett-Tolbert race are in
From the Massie precinct in Pulaski: Tolbert 18, Cornett 10. This is for the Republican nomination in House District 46, an open seat.
7:29 p.m.: Stoney took early vote, narrowly, over Hashmi in Loudoun and Fairfax
That’s potentially significant if the day-of voting mirrors the early voting. Stoney took 25.31% in Loudoun to Hashmi’s 24.93%. In Fairfax County: Stoney: 25.86%, Hashmi 23.07%.
7:25 p.m.: Taylor won early vote in Loudon and Fairfax
That’s potentially significant if the day-of voting mirrors the early voting. Taylor took 50.41% in Loudoun and 53.44% in Fairfax. Small margins in big counties.
7:21 p.m.: Hashmi, Rouse and Stoney vie for lead; AG’s race almost tied
It’s still very, very early — only about 6% of precincts reporting and most early votes not yet reported — but the lead in the Democratic lieutenant governor’s race is flipping back and forth between Ghazala Hashmi, Aaron Rouse and Levar Stoney.
Jay Jones holds a very slim lead over Shannon Taylor in the AG’s race. Hang on, folks, this is going to be fun!
7:12 p.m.: Chesterfield County’s early vote is now in: Hashmi and Jones
That’s a big chunk of votes right off the bat. In the LG race, Hashmi took the early voting there with 47.93% to 35.59% for Stoney – no surprise given the geography (Hashmi has represented part of Chesterfield). In the AG’s race, Jones took the early voting in Chesterfield, 52.30% to 47.70% for Taylor. Long way to go but now we have numbers.
7:09 p.m.: The first precinct to report is from Henry County
I always like to see who has reported first. It’s almost always a rural one, because fewer votes are involved. Tonight it’s the Spencer precinct in Henry County.
Levar Stoney led the voting there for lieutenant governor: Stoney 6, Hashmi 5, Rouse 4, Bastani and Lateef 2 piece, Salgado 1. That seems a good showing for Hashmi in a rural area.
Jay Jones led the AG’s race, 13-7 over Shannon Taylor.
7 p.m.: The polls have closed
The polls have closed across Virginia. If you’re still in line, you can still vote. It shouldn’t take too long before we get numbers. For the running totals, see the State Board of Elections site (Democrats here, Republicans there) or the Virginia Public Access Project. What I’ll provide here is some commentary and analysis on those numbers.
6:16 p.m.: How many rural Democrats will we see?
Matt Brady of Northumberland County posts on X that the first voter at his precinct didn’t arrive until 8 a.m., two hours after the polls opened. He voted at 9:50 p.m. and was number 12. After all is said and done, I’ll be taking a closer look at the rural vote, either in a column or the West of the Capital newsletter or both, depending on what I find.
5:14 p.m.: Stanley works the polls with Cornett in Wythe County
While Adam Tolbert had some help today from Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (see below), Mitchell Cornett had state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, working the polls with him in Wythe County. The two spent much of the day at the Rural Retreat precinct. Cornett and Tolbert are seeking the Republican nomination in House District 46, an open seat where Del. Jed Arnold, R-Smyth County, is retiring.
12:21 p.m.: Earle-Sears stumps with Tolbert in Smyth County
One of the primaries we’ll be following closely is the Republican primary for a House for Delegates nomination in House District 46, which covers Grayson, Smyth and Wythe counties and part of Pulaski County. Del. Jed Arnold, R-Smyth, is retiring and that’s set in motion a campaign between Adam Tolbert of Smyth and Mitchell Cornett of Grayson. Tolbert has a long list of endorsements, starting with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, although Cornett has waged a spirited campaign focused on criticizing Appalachian Power rates and the early voting trends have been heavily weighted toward Cornett’s home county. Today, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears joined Tolbert at Adwolfe in Smyth County to help get out the vote.
12:16 p.m.: Whittle plays up Marshall endorsement in Danville-area House race
I was in Danville last week; that’s part of House District 49, which today has both Democratic and Republican primaries for House nominations. Only House District 89 in Chesapeake and Suffolk also has a double primary. I didn’t see many signs around town but did find these two sign for the Republicans near each other. Note that Madison Whittle is playing up his endorsement by Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, who is retiring.
12:07 p.m.: Jones stumps in the urban crescent
The only candidate who has put out a schedule or today is Jay Jones, one of two candiates for Democratic nomination for attorney general general: He’s got stops in Clifton in Fairfax County, Dumfries in Prince William County, Glen Allen in Henrico County, Richmond and then two appearances in his hometown of Norfolk.
12:01 p.m.: Huge traffic on our Voter Guide; a sign there are a lot of late deciders?
Let’s start with what may seem like shameles self-promotion (it is) but which also may have some significance: We had great traffic on our Voter Guide through the early voting; up 33% from the traffic we saw during the early voting period during the fall general election. Of course, Cardinal’s overall traffic has gone up so that accounts but some, but not all of this. During the fall, the Voter Guide was the 16th most-popular item on our site. During this year’s primary, it’s been the 2nd most popular, even though fewer races are involved.
Over the past two days, we’ve seen a massive surge in traffic on the Voter Guide. Monday’s trafffic topped some entire weeks. Today’s seems on track to do the same. My take on this: This may suggest we’re seeeing a lot of late deciders, who are eager for any information they can find before they make their choices.
You can find our Voter Guide here. We’re planning to update it later this week with the statewide candidates on the general election ballot. First things first, though.
