Arlington Voters To Decide Democratic Primary For VA House Of Delegates Race

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 the 1st District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Three Democrats are vying to represent 1st District residents in Richmond — incumbent Del. Patrick A. Hope, Arjoon Srikanth and Sean Phillip Epstein.

Located entirely in Arlington County, the district is bordered by McLean and the City of Falls Church to the west and the area north of Arlington Boulevard and west of Glebe Road. It also includes the neighborhoods west of North Kirkwood Road and Custis Memorial Parkway.

"I am running because I want to continue my work as an advocate and fighter for Arlington values at the state level," Hope said, in response to Patch's candidate questionnaire. "From increasing school funding to protecting Obamacare expansion to investing in renewable energy, my priority in office will always be to protect our most vulnerable populations. I want to build on the progress that Democrats and I have made over my 16 years in office and that we will continue to deliver with Abigail Spanberger as our next Governor."

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

In his candidate questionnaire, Srikanth shared his reasons for seeking the 1st District seat:

"I’m running for this office because our communities are under attack — federal workers, LGBTQIA+ people, and immigrants are being targeted by the current administration. As delegate, I will fight to proactively strengthen our communities, and do everything in my power to disrupt, delay, and call attention to these attacks. This stands in stark contrast to the incumbent delegate, who stayed silent for weeks when, for example, immigrants like Georgetown University Professor Badar Khan Suri were being snatched from their own homes blocks away from our district."

"I am running to help our party and our state move from business-as-usual politics to a more execution focused model whereby our schools in District 1 are better funded, we build things better and with more accountability and we stop chasing shinny pennies and focus on doing a few things and doing them well," Epstein said, in his candidate questionnaire.

Voters will also choose which of the two Democrats running for the Arlington County Board they want on the Nov. 4 ballot: James A. DeVita or Takis P. Karantonis.

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.

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.