Dual primary election is Tuesday
Rappahannock polls open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There will be a dual primary election this Tuesday, June 13, for Democratic and Republican parties for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and members of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Polls in Rappahannock County on Tuesday will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Voters will be required to select and vote either a Democratic ballot or a Republican ballot, but cannot vote both. Remember that Virginia law requires all voters to provide an acceptable form of photo identification (photo ID) when voting in person at their polling place.
In the gubernatorial race, two Democrats are on the primary ballot: Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello. Three Republican candidates vying for governor include: Ed Gillespie, Corey Stewart, and Frank Wagner.
There are three Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor: Justin Fairfax, Gene Rossi, and Susan Platt; and three Republicans: Bryce Reeves, Glenn R. Davis, Jr., and Jill Vogel.
Rappahannock County votes in District 18 — encompassing Rappahannock, Fauquier, Warren and Culpeper counties — and is currently represented in the House of Delegates by Republican Michael Webert, who has been serving since 2012. Only two candidates have filed to run against Webert this year, none from the same party — Democrat Tristan Shields and the Green Party’s Will King — so no primary voting is required for that particular seat leading up to the November 7 election.
Rappahannock County has no constitutional officers up for election on Tuesday, but bear in mind that two board of supervisor positions and two school board positions will be on the ballot for the 2017 November General Election: Stonewall-Hawthorne (Scrabble) and Piedmont (Sperryville) District BOS and School Board terms are all up for election this fall.
In last November’s presidential election, District 18 leaned heavily right — handing Donald Trump 61 percent of the vote to Hillary Clinton’s 34 percent. This overwhelming margin in favor of Trump took place despite 2011 redistricting, when District 18 actually became less Republican.
Rappahannock voters, which number 5,535, represent 10 percent of District 18’s voting. Fifty-three percent of its voters — 28,788 — are registered in Fauquier County.