(The Center Square) – With less than five weeks to go, over 22,000 Virginians have already voted in the June 17 primary, and nearly 90% of those ballots have come from Democratic voters.
Early voting turnout is being driven by Democratic primaries for lieutenant governor, attorney general and dozens of House seats across Virginia, according to commonwealth data.
Republicans have far fewer contested races this cycle, with just two statewide primaries and limited House challenges, contributing to the lower early ballot counts so far.
Democratic voters have returned 22,705 early ballots as of Tuesday afternoon, compared to just over 2,000 from Republicans, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
The gap reflects the reality that far fewer Republican races are being contested in June, limiting turnout opportunities for GOP voters.
House District 81, which includes parts of Richmond, now leads the commonwealth in Democratic early voting with 521 ballots returned. Del. Delores McQuinn faces a primary challenge from Henrico school board chair Alicia Atkins.
District 93, which includes parts of Norfolk, follows closely with 507 early ballots cast. Del. Jackie Glass is running unopposed in the primary.
In House District 97, a Republican primary between Tim Anderson and Christina Felder will determine who faces Democrat incumbent Michael Feggans in November.
District 70 also features a Republican primary between Hailey Dollar and Cynthia Scaturico, with the winner facing Democratic incumbent Shelly Simonds.
In District 89, Democrat Blaizen “Buckshot” Bloom faces Karen Carnegie in a primary that will determine who takes on either Mike Lamonea or Kristen Shannon from the Republican primary.
Other high-interest districts include House District 59, where 486 early votes have been cast, and House District 56, which has already logged 478 ballots amid a contested Democratic primary.
Several local primaries are also drawing voters to the polls. Chesapeake voters are deciding between Wallace Chadwick and David Rosado in the Republican primary for sheriff.
In Newport News, Democrats are choosing between Howard Gwynn and Shannon Jones for commonwealth’s attorney and Sanu Dieng-Cooper and Derek Reason for treasurer. In Norfolk, John Butler and Ramin Fatehi are competing for the Democratic nomination for commonwealth’s attorney.
