Call it a special birthday present.

Just two days before turning 37, Lashrecse D. Aird celebrated in advance Tuesday by putting an election whipping on maverick Democratic state Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey in their head-to-head contest.

Pounding her rival for his avowed pro-life stance on abor- tion, Ms. Aird corralled 70% of the votes cast in the party’s nominating contest for the 13th Senate District and won in all eight localities, including Petersburg and Hopewell and Henrico County that had previously been significant areas of support for Sen. Morrissey.

According to unofficial results, Ms. Aird received 14,605 votes to 6,456 for Sen. Morrissey.

She is now considered the odds-on favorite to win the Nov. 7 general election where she will face long-shot Republican Eric Ditri in the heavily Democratic district.

Her win represents an important political comeback for the former Petersburg delegate, who served three terms in the General Assembly before suffering an upset loss in 2021 to the current Petersburg-area delegate, Kim Taylor.

“I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support,” Ms. Aird said in her victory address. “It is truly a testament to our community and to our Commonwealth that I am standing here on this stage.

“As we set our sights beyond our victory tonight, I’m ready to hit the ground running,” Ms. Aird continued. “In Richmond, I’ll be a firewall for our reproductive rights in the face of Republican extremists who think they have the right to make decisions about our own bodies.”

A first-term senator, Sen. Morrissey was one of five members of the upper chamber of the General Assembly who were ousted in the primary contests, the most in 24 years, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Among the losers was a notorious archconservative Republican, Chesterfield County state Sen. Amanda F. Chase, the self-described “Trump in heels,” who narrowly lost to former state Sen. Glen H. Sturtevant Jr. in a race that included another conservative, Tina Ramirez.

Ms. Aird’s victory was part of a banner night for Black candidates, women and other non-white candidates.

In an apparent record, Black candidates won six of the 15 Democratic nomination contests for Senate seats and 11 of the 16 Democratic nomination contests for House of Delegate seats, with eight of the House winners assured of election as they have no challenger in the Nov. 7 general election. No Black candidates won a Republican primary.

“We had a good night,” said Richmond state Sen. Lamont Bagby, who won his own Democratic primary in the 14th Senate District while cheerfully noting other winners who are now on track to join the 21-member Virginia Legislative Black Caucus that he chairs and add to the group’s political influence.

“We went into this election with a goal of increasing our membership by 25 percent,” or at last five seats, said Sen. Bagby, who easily defeated his challenger, campus minister Katie Gooch, by winning majorities in 72 of the 75 precincts in the Richmond/Henrico district.

He said the results indicate that the Caucus will achieve a net gain of at least five members, with the potential to add even more new members once results are in for the Nov. 7 general election.

The thumping he received could be the last hurrah for Sen. Morrissey, 65, a twice disbarred criminal attorney whose checkered and colorful record includes being the first General Assembly member to commute to the legislature on work-release from the jail where he was serving a 90-day sentence.

It was second straight embarrassing election loss for the senator, who also trailed far behind now U.S. Rep. Jennifer L. McClellan in the intra-party contest in late December that was held to fill the 4th Congressional District seat after the death of the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin.

After conceding to Ms. Aird, the controversial lawmaker told reporters he is bowing out of politics.

“I want to congratulate my opponent and her family,” said the senator, who also has been engulfed in a bitter, highly publicized divorce while seeking re-election.

“I’m moving on to my next chapter in my life, I want to be a full-time dad and coach to all my kids,” said the senator, who began his political career in 1989 when he successfully ran for Richmond commonwealth’s attorney.

“I cannot see running for office ever again.”

Ms. Aird, who raised twice as much money as Sen. Morrissey and had virtually the entire state Democratic Party united behind her, said she never took anything for granted given Sen. Morrissey’s reputation as a relentless campaigner.

As part of her strategy, she used his own words against him, particularly his statements on abortion that he aired on the radio talk show he hosts in which he expressed pride in being “pro-life” and also talked up his willingness to vote with Republicans on imposing a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

In late March, the six state Democratic women senators endorsed Ms. Aird and issued unusually harsh criticism of their colleague, hammering him for what they described as his out-of-step position on abortion and his history “of divisive and destructive actions.

“Sen. Morrissey has a long history of being on the wrong side of the values that matter to Virginia’s Democratic votes,” the Senate Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote. “His public behavior has, for years, drawn attention to himself rather than to the needs of his constituents.”

“Never has it ever been done that the women in elected office rebuke a colleague but it had to be done,” Ms. Aird told her supporters Tuesday night.

“I stand before you and commit to not only fight to protect our reproductive rights but all of those things that I talked about: Our schools, our communities, making every single family feel valued. They deserve that. This will be the power of electing responsible leadership. That is what it will look like.”

Sen. Morrissey’s defeat was also a victory for abortion-rights supporters, who heavily backed Ms. Aird, who supports the party’s renewed priority of preserving abortion access.

In a statement, Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said the voters of the district “were loud and clear.

“They demand to be represented by an outspoken advocate for reproductive rights,” Ms. Lockhart stated.

In another closely watched primary between two veteran Hampton Roads Democrats, Portsmouth state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, 79, triumphed over Sen. Lionell Spruill Sr., 76.

Known for her combative and occasionally offbeat Twitter presence, Sen. Lucas posted an image of herself Tuesday night with boxing gloves and the text: “MOMMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT!”

In Northern Virginia, two senate veterans were unseated, George L. Barker and J. C. “Chap” Petersen. Sen. Barker lost to Fairfax County School Board member Stella Pekarsky while Sen. Petersen lost to financial reporting consultant Saddam Azlan Salim, who emigrated with his family from Bangladesh as a child.

In other races of note, former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, who ran for governor in 2021, gained political redemption in winning in the 33rd Senate District in Prince William and Fairfax County. She defeated Hala Ayala, a former delegate and 2021 candidate for lieutenant governor.

Two other incumbent senators appear to have survived tough challenges, Sen. Creigh Deeds in the 11th Senate District in the Charlottesville area and Jeremy McPike in the 27th Senate District in Prince William County.