A three-way race for one of the state’s most important political positions ended last weekend with Sen. Lamont Bagby becoming the new chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Bagby was elected March 22 during a DPVA Central Committee meeting and immediately seated, succeeding Susan Swecker, who held the post for a decade.

Swecker announced her exit in February. The final tally showed Bagby earning 172 votes out of 262 cast, followed by 57 votes for 10th Congressional District chair Zach Pruckowski, 29 votes for Activate Virginia Executive Director Josh Stanfield, and four abstentions.

Bagby’s role is significant this year, as Virginia is set to hold elections for several key offices, including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates.

In an interview Wednesday, Bagby discussed his goal of expanding DPVA’s efforts in both Democratic and Republican areas to ensure all Virginians are heard.

“What we’ve focused on traditionally is those purple areas where we’re extremely competitive,” Bagby said. “But we need to be making sure that we’re talking to folks all across Virginia.”

“That’s going to be the No. 1 goal: to win and increase our margins.”

The chairmanship is the latest political post for Bagby, a former teacher who previously served on the Henrico County School Board, was a delegate in the Virginia House for the 74th District for nearly a decade and now represents the 9th Senate District.

As he assumes his new role, Bagby will step down as chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, a position he has held since 2017, but will continue serving as a state senator and chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.