2 Democrats For Arlington County Board Compete In June 17 Primary

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington voters will cast ballots on Tuesday in the Democratic Party primary to decide who will represent the party in November in the race for an at-large seat on the Arlington County Board.

Incumbent Takis Karantonis is being challenged by attorney James A. DeVita. The winner will face three independent candidates in the Nov. 4 general election — Audrey Clement, Carlos De Castro Pretelt and Jeramy Lee Olmack.

In his Patch campaign questionnaire, DeVita said he was running because he wanted to repeal the Missing Middle, a zoning ordinance amendment the county board approved in 2023 to allow development of up to 4-6 units per residential lot. The aim was to address county's shortfall in housing supply and gaps in housing choices.

Last September, Circuit Court Judge David Schell struck down the Missing Middle ordinance, saying that the county failed to adequately consider the new zoning ordinance's impact, according to ARLNow. The county has appealed the decision.

During a candidate forum in May, Karantonis said that increasing options was the only way to make available more affordably housing, according to ARLNow.

"The Missing Middle will not create affordable housing and will create too much density," DeVita said.

Arlington voters will also be casting ballots for three Democrats vying to represent 1st District residents in Richmond — incumbent Del. Patrick A. Hope, Arjoon Srikanth and Sean Phillip Epstein.

Statewide, voters will cast ballots in the lieutenant governor and attorney general races on Tuesday.

Lieutenant Governor - Democratic Party

• Levar Marcus Stoney
• Babur B. Lateef
• Aaron R. Rouse
• Victor R. Salgado
• Ghazala F. Hashmi
• Alexandre J. Bastani

Attorney General - Democratic Party

• Shannon L. Taylor
• Jay C. Jones

In April, the Virginia Republican Party cancelled its primary in the lieutenant governor’s after Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity dropped out due to health reasons. This left former conservative radio host John J. Reid II as the sole GOP candidate in that race.

View sample ballots for Arlington voters in the June 17 Democratic primary.

The Republican candidates joining Reid on the November ballot are Winsome Earle-Sears and Jason Miyares, who are running in the governor and attorney general races, respectively.

Abigail Spanberger is the Democratic Party’s candidate in the governor’s race.

Early voting for the primary ended on Saturday and mail-in ballots can be returned by mail, in person at polling places from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, or by drop box. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before June 17 and received by 12 p.m., June 20. In Arlington, there are nine 24-hour dropbox locations.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary was May 27. Same-day registration is available on June 17, giving voters the option to cast a provisional ballot. Voters may ask to complete same-day registration at an early voting site or polling place.

To vote on Election Day, visit your assigned polling place between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. An acceptable form of ID is required to vote in person in Virginia. More information for Arlington County voters is available online.

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