Salim Defeats Petersen In Fairfax Democratic Committee Straw Poll Vote

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County Democratic Committee conducted a Pick Your Pony Straw Poll on Sunday to kick-off the 2023 campaign season.

Sunday's Straw Poll at Mustang Sally Brewing Company in Chantilly was a fund-raising event for the committee, with attendees purchasing a ticket so they could show their preference for Democratic candidates running in various races across the county. The committee doesn't endorse candidates during the primary season, so the results of the voting were non-binding.

"The Fairfax Democrats 'Pick Your Pony' Straw Poll is one of our annual fundraisers where attendees can cast mock ballots to declare their preferences in the Democratic nomination and endorsement races across the county," said FCDC Chair Bryan Graham said, in an email. "This fun event allows our candidates to organize support while financially supporting the party's efforts to win elections this year."

Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7, to choose candidates running for the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate, the Commonwealth's Attorney, Clerk of the Fairfax Circuit Court, Fairfax County Sheriff, Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, District Members of the Board of Supervisors, At-Large Members of the Fairfax County School Board, District Members of the School board, and Directors (vote for 3) of the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.

Early voting for the June 20 Democratic Party primary begins May 6. Voters must register by May 29 to be eligible to vote in the June 20 primary. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot for the Democratic primary is June 9.

On Sunday, each of the candidates had 30 seconds to introduce themselves, before the start of the straw poll.

This was the first time that the Fairfax Democrats conducted a straw poll using a weighted voting system to determine a winner. A candidate won if they received a plurality of the votes cast. If no one received a plurality, then the candidate with the lowest total was eliminated and another round of voting occurred. This continued until a candidate reached the necessary plurality.

The Nov. 7 general election will be the first one that Virginia voters will be casting ballots in the redrawn House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate districts. For this reason, some incumbent candidates are running in differently numbered districts this year.

For example, Sen. Chap Petersen represented the 34th District in the 2023 General Assembly but is running in the new 37th District against fellow Democrats Saddam Salim and Erika Yalowitz.

This race delivered one of the big surprises of the night, with Salim garnering nearly double the number of votes each of his opponents in the first round.

State Senate - 37th District

• Chap Petersen: 52 votes (26.27 percent)*
• Saddam Salim: 101 votes (51.79 percent)
• Erika Yalowitz: 52 votes (26.67 percent)

Voters in the Reston area will be casting ballots in the 7th District to see who will represent them in the Virginia House of Delegates. Reston's long-time delegate, Democrat Ken Plum, announced in February that he would not be seeking reelection in November. Currently, five Democrats are running in the 7th District. On Sunday, it took four rounds of voting to determine the winner of the straw poll in that race.

House of Delegates - 7th District

• John Farrell: Eliminated in first round
• Paul Berry: Eliminated in the third round
• Shyamali Hauth: 82 votes (52.90)
• Karen Keys-Gamarra: 73 votes (47.10)
• Mary Barthelson: Eliminated in the second round

Candidates in some races, such as for the Fairfax County School Board, run as independents, but they are free to seek the endorsement of one of the two political parties.

Fairfax Democrats will be choosing which candidates they will be endorsing in the school board and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District Directors races during the 2023 Democratic Endorsement Caucus.

Online voting will take place from May 13, at 10 a.m. to May 20, at 4 p.m. In-person voting will take place on May 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at locations to be announced at a future date.
Those wishing to cast a ballot in the caucus must be a registered voter and must be pre-register for the caucus. Pre-registration opens on April 10, at 10 a.m., and closes on May 5.

The following are the remaining results of Sunday's straw poll. Incumbent candidates are marked with an asterisk (*).

Commonweath's Attorney

• Steve Descano: 153 votes (79.27 percent)*
• Ed Nuttall: 40 votes (20.73 percent)

House of Delegates - 13th District

• Kaye Kory - 34 votes (20 percent)
• Marcus Simon - 136 votes (80 percent)

House of Delegates - 15th District

• Laura Jane Cohen: 145 votes (83.82 percent)
• Henri Thompson: 19 votes (10.98 percent)
• Eric Schmidt: 9 votes (5.20 percent)

House of Delegates - 19th District

• Makya Little: 81 votes (60 percent)
• Rozia Henson: 32 votes (23.70 percent)
• Natalie Shorter: 22 votes (16.30 percent)

School Board At-Large

• Lawrence Webb: Reached plurality in round 6
• J. Chris Lewis: Eliminated in round four
• Hamid Munir: Eliminated in round three
• Illyrong Moon: Reached plurality in round 6
• Kyle McDaniel: Reached plurality in round 6
• Abrar Omeish: Eliminated in round five*

Republican Linda Pellegrino and independent candidates Cassandra Aucoin and Saundra Davis are also running in the at-large school board race.

School Board - Franconia

• Marcia St. John - Cunning: 94 votes (88.68 percent)
• Mark Tenney - 12 votes (11.32 percent)

School Board - Hunter Mill

• Melanie Meren: 54 votes (38.57 percent)*
• Paul Thomas: 86 votes (61.43 percent)

Republican Geoffrey P. Akey and independent candidate Harry Randall Jackson are also running in the Hunter Mill District school board race.

School Board - Mount Vernon

• Harold Sims - 42 votes (38.18 percent)
• Mateo Dunne - 68 votes (61.82 percent)

Sheriff

• Stacey Kincaid: 126 votes (68.48 percent)*
• Kevin Garcia: 58 votes (31.52 percent)

Jerry Lee McMillian is also running for sheriff.

State Senate, 33rd District

• Hala Ayala: 49 votes (25.00%)
• Jennifer Carrol Foy: 147 votes (75 percent)

State Senate - 35th District

• Dave Marsden: 109 votes (54.23 percent)*
• Heidi Drauschak: 92 votes (45.77 percent)

State Senate - 36th District

• George Barker - 75 votes (75 percent)*
• Stella Pekarsky - 118 votes (61.14 percent)

Supervisor - Mason District

• Andres Jimenez - 92 votes (74.19 percent)
• Steve Lee - 9 votes (7.26 percent)
• Jeremy Allen - 11 votes (8.87 percent)
• Reid Voss - 12 votes (9.68 percent)

Supervisor - Mount Vernon

• Dan Storck - 88 votes (61.11 percent)*
• Maritza Zermeño - 56 votes (38.89 percent)

Supervisor - Springfield

• Albert Vega - 84 votes (49.70 percent)
• John Nowadly - 85 votes (50.30 percent)

Republican Pat Herrity, who is the incumbent Springfield District supervisor, recently launched his re-election bid. Corazon Foley is also running as an Independent Green candidate