With their own candidates far ahead in early returns, Arlington Democrats spent the first hours of election night in Shirlington watching the rest of the country.
The Associated Press projected Sen. Mark Warner (D) the winner minutes after Virginia polls closed at 7 p.m. It called Rep. Don Beyer’s (D) race shortly after 8 p.m., and the party’s local slate held wide leads.
Warner and Beyer claimed victory at Warner’s election night event at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. There, Beyer said he doesn’t expect a “warm and friendly relationship” with President Donald Trump if Democrats win control of Congress.
“I think we will try to use the budgets and the debt ceiling coming up as leverage points to stop the most odious things that he’s doing,” Beyer said. He added that Democrats would also prioritize oversight of the administration: “Sunlight is a great disinfectant.”
The bigger question in the room was whether Democrats would win back Congress. They need a net gain of three House seats and four Senate seats to do that. As of 11:30 p.m., Democrats had flipped four Republican-held Senate seats and defeated six Republicans in key House races. That left them on the brink of winning control of both chambers, according to the Associated Press.
“And now we wait. Grab a drink, have some fun,” Austin Locke, finance chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee and emcee for tonight’s watch party at Astro Beer Hall, told the crowd as polls closed.
Candidates kept their remarks brief. County Board member Matt de Ferranti (D) said he was “super grateful” to the more than 700 local Democratic volunteers.
“You made this election happen,” he said.
“The No. 1 value I hold is inclusion. We’re a party of inclusion,” said School Board member Bethany Zecher Sutton, who is seeking a second term against challenger James Vell Rives IV.
Treasurer Kim Rucker said she was “very grateful,” adding, “this is work I love to do.” She thanked former treasurers Frank O’Leary and Carla de la Pava “for believing in me and mentoring me.”
Rucker became treasurer automatically in July, when de la Pava retired. Tonight’s special election fills the final year of de la Pava’s term.
Four Republican-held U.S. House seats in Virginia were competitive in statewide returns. AP called the 6th District for Rep. Ben Cline (R). As of 11:30 p.m., Democrats Shannon Taylor and Elaine Luria led Reps. Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans in the 1st and 2nd districts. Rep. John McGuire (R) had pulled ahead of Tom Perriello in the 5th. None of those three races had been called.
Arlington results so far
All of Arlington’s early, Election Day and mail ballots counted on election night are now in the county results. Only provisional and post-election ballots remain.
Election Day turnout was down from four years ago, but early voting was up more than 50%. As of 5 p.m., 26.1% of voters had cast ballots in person today, according to the county’s last turnout update. That compares with 34% at the same point in 2022. In all, 102,455 ballots had been counted, more than 2022’s final total of 91,805.
As of 11:30 p.m.:
- U.S. Senate: Warner 84.7%, Bert Mizusawa (R) 15%. Statewide, Warner had 59.9% with all 133 localities reporting.
- U.S. House, 8th District: Beyer 82.4%, Tony Sabio (R) 14.9%, Tim Sharman (I) 1.4%, Shelly Arnoldi (L) 1.2%
- County Board: de Ferranti 70%, Audrey Clement (I) 21%, David Sisson (I) 8% in first-choice votes. The ranked-choice count only goes to additional rounds if no candidate tops 50%.
- School Board: Zecher Sutton 78.1%, Rives 20.9%
- Treasurer: Rucker 86%, Aasim Rawoot 12.8%
All five county bond referendums, totaling $264 million, were passing with at least 76.4% of the vote. Support ranged from 76.4% for community infrastructure to 88.2% for utilities.
All three state constitutional amendments were also passing, both in Arlington and statewide. AP reported that the reproductive rights amendment passed. Statewide, with all 133 localities reporting:
- Reproductive rights: 61.5% yes
- Same-sex marriage: 56.5% yes
- Voting rights for people with felony convictions: 55.4% yes
In Arlington, the three amendments had between 78.9% and 84.7% support.
Scott McCaffrey contributed to this report.
