On Tuesday, three Republican candidates—Kim Farington, Bert Mizusawa, and David Williams—will be facing off to see who will earn the nomination to run against three-term incumbent Sen. Mark Warner in the race for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Warner is unopposed on the Democratic side after potential challenger Mark Moran decided to run as an independent. Moran was barred this year from using the wagering platform Kalshi after he placed a bet on his own candidacy. He said that he “wanted to get caught.”
Primary day in the commonwealth is Aug. 4. Joe Thomas of the Daily Signal spoke with two of the GOP contenders recently.
“I truly believe that this is going to be a referendum, not only on Mark Warner, but also on [Gov. Abigail] Spanberger, who is one of the lowest-ranking governors at this time in her term,” Williams told the Daily Signal. He added that lawmakers aren’t working hard enough to solve important problems. “Sen. Warner voted 13 times to shut down the government and then went on vacation, and those are the type of things that Virginians are frustrated with.”
Farington also targeted Warner.
“I don’t have to prove he’s out of touch. He is proving to Virginians himself that he is so out of touch with his constituents,” she told Thomas. “He cannot relate to the government employees. He shut down the government, using them as a political pawn—the government contractors as well, the small businesses. He is so out of touch with reality, with the real issues that Virginians are facing.”
Farington promised to provide accountability and transparency if elected, including making changes to the budget process.
Mizusawa, a retired Army major general, spoke recently to Charlottesville Tomorrow, where he focused on what he would do to put America first and defend constitutional principles.
“Congress has a responsibility to fulfill its constitutional duties regardless of which party controls the White House,” he told the news outlet. “The Constitution and existing federal law clearly define the scope and limits of presidential authority, and each branch of government should remain within those boundaries. My focus will be on working with President Trump to advance an America First agenda that strengthens our country and delivers results for Virginians.”
There are also House primaries in a few of the state’s 11 districts. There are Republican primaries in the 10th, 7th, and 5th districts and Democratic primaries in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 9th districts.
Democrats currently hold both U.S. Senate seats and six of Virginia’s 11 House seats.
Congressional district lines remain unchanged from the 2024 election, although this year’s primaries were delayed for several months by a Democrat-led proposal to redistrict this year. The Virginia Supreme Court invalidated the results of April’s constitutional amendment redistricting referendum, which passed with 52% of the vote.
While early voting wraps up on Saturday, voters aren’t showing up as they have in recent elections. Through Sunday, fewer than 40,000 people had cast ballots in the Republican primary, far fewer than at this point in 2024, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. It found that early turnout is also down on the Democrat side, with roughly 68,000 votes cast compared to 120,000 two years ago.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
