Democratic, Republican Nominees Chosen For 32nd Senate District Special Election

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Republican and Democratic voters made their choices for candidates to run in the special election for state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam's seat after his election to Congress. As chosen by caucuses on Saturday, the 32nd District candidates in the Jan. 7, 2025 special election will be Democrat Kannan Srinivasan and Republican Tumay Harding.

Srinivasan, currently the delegate for Virginia's 26th House District, won Saturday's caucus over Hurunnessa Fariad of the Multi-faith Neighbors Network, former Del. Ibraheem Samirah, small business owner Puja Khanna, former Commonwealth's Attorney Buta Biberaj and former Dulles District Board of Supervisors candidate Sree NagiReddi. According to the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, Srinivasan received 2,698 votes, followed by Samirah with 1,288, Biberaj with 823, NagiReddi with 574, Fariad with 428 and Khanna with 254.

"Srinivasan has been an amazing Delegate for Loudoun County and a champion for the members of our community," said Loudoun County Democratic Committee chair Liz Carter in a statement. "With his leadership and vision, we are confident he will fight for all Virginians in the state senate, and we look forward to his continued representation in Richmond."

Votes by caucus location were led by Hutchison Farm with 1,504, followed by Cedar Lane with 1,473, Moorefield with 1,213, Madison's Trust with 995 and Sterling Community Center with 880.

Harding, who has worked as a teacher and has been a vocal critic of the Loudoun County School Board, won over Republican candidates Ommair Butt Rafi Khaja, Sam Abraham, and Samuel Yan. Harding hopes to get enough support in the special election to flip the Senate, as Democrats currently have a 21-19 majority.

"The hard work begins as we turn our focus toward January 7th and taking back the majority in the Virginia Senate," Harding said in a statement. "In just five short days since announcing, our grassroots campaign garnered an extraordinary level of enthusiasm, and I am confident that with our unrelenting efforts, that enthusiasm will grow exponentially over the next 52 days."

The Loudoun County Republican Party did not include vote totals in its caucus results announcement.

The 32nd Senate district special election was announced for Jan. 7, 2025 after Subramanyam won the 10th Congressional District election on Nov. 5. The special election is open to voters within the district only, which covers part of Loudoun County. The district is labeled as strong Democratic by the Virginia Public Access project.

According to the Virginia Department of Elections, registering to vote or updating a voter registration is available through Dec. 31. Same-day registration is available through a provisional ballot after Dec. 31. Early voting for the special election will happen from Dec. 11 through 5 p.m. on Jan. 4 at the Office of Elections in Leesburg. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 28 and Jan. 4 and closed on Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Additional sites open on Dec. 28 and Jan. 4 only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. are Claude Moore Recreation Center and Dulles South Recreation Center.

Applications for mail-in ballots may be requested from Dec. 11 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 27.

On Jan. 7, 2025, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters will go to their assigned polling place.

More information about the upcoming special election is available through the Loudoun County Office of Elections.