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Get your vote on

6/15/2023, 6 p.m.
After months of campaigning, it’s now the voters’ turn to determine the winners and losers in local elections. On Tuesday, …

After months of campaigning, it’s now the voters’ turn to determine the winners and losers in local elections. On Tuesday, June 20, polling places will open in districts with contests from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and citizens can choose their Democratic or Republican nominee to run in the November election.

The primary elections are being held in revamped and renumbered districts created as a result of population changes disclosed through the 2020 Census. Only a fraction of the 140 General Assembly districts will have June 20 primary elections. Of the 40 Senate districts, only 18 will have primary contests.

Among the races to watch is the 81st District, where 14-year Democratic Delegate Delores L. McQuinn is seeking another two-year term. None of the district is in Richmond’s East End, which she has represented since she won her seat in 2009. Now, the district is comprised of Eastern Henrico and Charles City County, along with a small piece of Chesterfield County.

The former chair of the House Transportation Committee, Del. McQuinn believes her experience gives her the edge over her competitor Terrence L. Walker, who works at Virginia Commonwealth University as a mental health administrator.

Del. McQuinn, who grew up in Eastern Henrico, serves on House Appropriations and several other key House committees. Among other things, she led the charge that ended state support for Confederate cemeteries and shifted the funding to support neglected Black cemeteries.

Mr. Walker has garnered major support from Clean Virginia, which seeks to oust those like Delegate McQuinn who take contributions from Dominion Energy.

Most of the hottest races involve the Senate. Few races have been more intense or more closely watched than the battle between Sen. Lucas, 79, one of the longest serving state senators after 31 years and her rival, Sen. Spruill, 76, a 22-year veteran of the House who moved up to the Senate in 2016.

Each has raised about $1.4 million to fuel their respective campaigns in the 18th Senate District that includes Chesapeake and Portsmouth, making it one of the most expensive elections this cycle. Sen. Lucas is from Portsmouth and Sen. Spruill is from Chesapeake.

Next door in the 12th Senate District, two-term Republican Sen. Amanda Chase is facing two well-funded challengers, former Delegate and former Richmond School Board member Glen H. Sturtevant Jr. and Tina Ramirez, leader of a an inter- national nonprofit she founded that focuses on safeguarding religious freedom.

Also shaping up as a big race is the contest in the 11th Senate District in the Charlottesville area.

There, another veteran of the state Senate, Creigh Deeds, a former candidate for governor, is facing a tough challenge from Delegate Sally Hudson.

Another attention magnet is the battle for the Democratic nomination in 33rd Senate District between former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, who ran for governor, and former Delegate Hala Ayala, who ran for lieutenant governor.