Democrats, Republicans and the Forward Party made their case to the electorate this morning (Friday) as early voting kicked off across Arlington and statewide.
“When we vote, we win,” County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said at the Arlington Democrats early-voting kickoff event held at Courthouse Plaza. It attracted about 65 attendees.
Karantonis, who is seeking re-election, said Democrats seek “a government that delivers for everybody.”
“We try to fix this country, not to divide it,” he said.
Karantonis was joined on the speakers’ roster by Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Jennifer McClellan and School Board candidate Monique “Moe” Bryant.
“Our freedoms are on the line,” said Bryant, the Democratic endorsee in a three-way race to succeed incumbent Mary Kadera. “Our very future is on the line. Your vote is your weapon against injustice.”
Virginia, early voting has officially started!
Awesome morning with @JennMcClellanVA, @TakisKarantonis, and voters who are fired up to elect leaders in November that will stand up for Virginians in this critical moment.
Make your plan to vote today: https://t.co/GHkKUE03kU pic.twitter.com/7zPEzDcwD5
— Mark Warner HQ (@MarkWarnerVA) September 19, 2025
Warner said the Virginia governor’s race gives the Old Dominion an outsized role in the 2025 election cycle.
“I think we’re ahead, but these are crazy times,” he said.
Nearby on Courthouse Plaza, Republicans also were making their case to the earliest of early voters. Local GOP chair Matthew Hurtt, who listened to the Democrats’ comments, came away unimpressed.
“A pretty low-energy event, not especially exciting,” he said of Democratic efforts. “This persuaded no voter that is not already decided.”
Had some great conversations with voters here — I’ll never give up on Northern Virginia! https://t.co/SPmMKUAPtV pic.twitter.com/OdTDxPIhEx
— John Reid (@JohnReid4VA) September 19, 2025
Making an appearance with local Republicans was John Reid, the GOP candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
In a conversation with Hurtt, posted on social media, Reid said he was in deep blue Northern Virginia, at least in part, because “we have got to attract new voters, people who have never even considered voting Republican.”
Republicans recently mailed out 25,000 pieces of campaign literature, aided by the local party’s improved financial picture.
Adjacent to the Republican space, the relatively new Forward Party had a tent. The party has endorsed Carlos De Castro (“D.C.”) Pretelt for County Board, and its 2024 endorsee, Madison Granger, was on hand to greet voters.
She was joined by James “Vell” Rives IV, who is making his fourth bid for School Board and this year has the endorsements of both the Arlington GOP and Forward Party.
Rives told ARLnow that local Democrats are focusing too much on the national political scene.
“We want people to talk about local issues when they vote for local office,” he said.
The only interaction between various parties came when Karantonis and a Republican activist got into a relatively mild verbal tussle over the issue of transgender policies at the local level. It lasted less than a minute and the parties otherwise kept their distance from one another.
At a rally in Arlington for Abigail Spanberger, I asked Mark Warner and Dem officials why Richard Cox was allowed to use women’s restrooms. Their answer was “he’s in jail” but couldn’t answer my follow up question “why do men have access up until their first sex crime?” pic.twitter.com/NnefUUmH9K
— Corey Inganamort 🪚🌴🪚 (@TheBirdWords) September 19, 2025
In 2021, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe scored a 51,465-vote margin of victory over Republican Glenn Youngkin in Arlington. McAuliffe received 73,031 votes while Youngkin, who won the contest statewide, received 21,548.
County Democratic chair Steve Baker said his party was focused on turning out every voter, knowing that most of the Arlington electorate leaned in the direction of his party.
Democrats didn’t have a specific local margin of victory in mind for 2025, he said.
“We’re not really doing that much math — we’re just working hard,” said Baker, who in January will wrap up four years as Democratic chair.
“I’ve loved it. I’ll miss it,” he said.
The five-candidate County Board race will be conducted under ranked-choice rules, with voters allowed to select up to three names in order of preference.
Republicans are asking voters to rank the GOP nominee, Bob Cambridge, first, followed in order by independents Audrey Clement and Pretelt. Karantonis and independent Jeramy Olmack round out the ballot.
In addition to Bryant and Rives, the School Board ballot includes independent Major Mike Webb. Arlington’s three seats in the House of Delegates also are on the ballot.
