Arlington Democrats and Republicans will each gather tonight (Wednesday) to dissect last night’s primary results and plot road maps to the Nov. 3 general election.
The meetings follow local primaries that played out mostly as expected.
Incumbents Don Beyer and Matt de Ferranti won healthy if not crushing victories for 8th District U.S. House of Representatives and County Board, respectively. Meanwhile, Bert Mizusawa won the Republican U.S. Senate primary, moving on to face incumbent Democrat Mark Warner and independent Mark Moran in November.
Arlington voter turnout was a light 12% for the Democratic primary and an anemic 1% in the GOP contest. Mail-in ballots received at elections offices by noon on Friday, Aug. 7 will be added to the final count before results are certified.
De Ferranti avoids ranked-choice runoff
De Ferranti won 12,029 votes, or 55%, in the Democratic primary, based on election night reporting by the Virginia Department of Elections.
“Amen! Thank you!” de Ferranti posted on Facebook after ARLnow reported that he and Beyer had won their races.
De Ferranti’s opponents split the rest of the vote. Julie Farnam received 6,045 votes, or 28%, while James DeVita earned 3,795 votes, or 17%.
By winning more than 50% of the vote, de Ferranti avoided facing a second round of voting in Arlington’s ranked-choice rules, which apply to County Board primaries and general elections.
Despite de Ferranti’s majority, the County Board race was “closer than expected,” said Virginia political analyst Lowell Feld. However, it was broad-based, with de Ferranti emerging as the top vote-getter in 50 of the county’s 54 precincts, according to preliminary election night figures.
Farnam won the other four precincts and finished second in nearly all the rest. DeVita ran third in all but one precinct, where he finished second.
De Ferranti locked in endorsements from most of the county’s Democratic political establishment in the 2026 race. Despite the presence of independents Audrey Clement and David Sisson on the Nov. 3 ballot, he is the odds-on favorite in the general election.
De Ferranti was first elected to office in 2018, defeating independent County Board member John Vihstadt. He won re-election in 2022.
Beyer wins two-thirds of the vote
Despite facing aggressive attacks from two of his opponents during the primary campaign, Beyer emerged largely unscathed in the five-candidate race.
He won 39,714 votes, or 67.6%, districtwide, being trailed by former Alexandria City Council member Mo Seifeldein (17.6%), Adam Dunigan (9%), Michael Duffin (3.2%) and Lorena Bruner (2.6%), according to unofficial results.
Seifeldein and Dunigan criticized Beyer, sometimes aggressively, throughout the campaign, while the incumbent largely ignored their attacks.
In Arlington, Beyer received 66.6% of the vote, followed by Seifeldein (17.7%), Dunigan (10%), Duffin (3.1%) and Bruner (2.5%).
In neighboring Falls Church, the smallest locality in the 8th District and a Beyer stronghold, the incumbent received 75.2% of the vote to 13.9% for Seifeldein, 6.6% for Dunigan, 3.1% for Duffin and 1.2% for Bruner.
Falls Church saw a 13% turnout for the congressional contest, the lone race on the city’s Democratic primary ballot.
In Alexandria, Beyer emerged with 65.3% of the vote, followed by Seifeldein at 20%. In the portions of Fairfax County in the 8th District, Beyer won 69.6% of the vote to 16.2% for Seifeldein.
First elected in 2014 to succeed Jim Moran, Beyer now moves on to the general election in a district that is considered a Democratic stronghold. He is facing Republican Tony Sabio in the general election.
Among local Democratic leaders supporting both Beyer and de Ferranti was Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3).
“Congressman Beyer has been a thoughtful and dynamic representative for our community, and I know that he will continue to fight hard for us across the Potomac,” Lopez said in a pre-election message to undecided voters. “Additionally, Matt de Ferranti has constantly stood up for Arlington and helped to make it a more welcoming and vibrant community.”
Retired general wins GOP Senate primary
Mizusawa, a retired Army major general, won the Republican U.S. Senate primary, taking 51.4% of the vote to 29% for David Williams and 19.6% for Kim Farington, based on mostly complete but unofficial data.
In Arlington, Mizusawa received 874 votes, or 47.9%, to 484 votes (26.5%) for Williams and 467 votes (25.6%) for Farington, based on election night results.
In Falls Church, results were closer: 38.7% for Mizusawa, 33.8% for Farington and 27.5% for Williams. Turnout was 1%.
It will be an uphill climb for Mizusawa against Warner. Most political analysts, including the Cook Political Report, expect the incumbent will have little difficulty in winning his fourth — and what he says will be his final — six-year term.
Democrats, GOP to meet tonight
The Arlington County Democratic Committee will meet tonight from 7-9 p.m. at Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School.
Beyond looking at the results of the primaries, the party will hold a vote on endorsing Kim Rucker in the special election for treasurer, and adopt positions on the five county bond referendums on the Nov. 3 ballot.
County Republicans, meanwhile, will meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Mister Days Sports Rock Cafe at 1101 N. Highland Street for a “post-primary strategy social.”
The local GOP will be focusing its energy on races for U.S. Senate and the 8th District seat. The party did not field a candidate for County Board or School Board, although it could still endorse independents running in both races.
Both events are open to the public.
Civic Federation forum set for September
The next big stop for candidates leading into the general election is likely to be the Arlington County Civic Federation candidate forum, slated for Tuesday, Sept. 8. Democrats and Republicans will also have representation at the upcoming Arlington County Fair.
Based on yesterday’s results and previous filings, the current Arlington ballot for Nov. 3 is as follows:
U.S. Senate: Mark Warner (Democratic incumbent), Bert Mizusawa (Republican), Mark Moran (independent)
U.S. House of Representatives: Don Beyer (Democratic incumbent), Tony Sabio (Republican)
County Board: Matt de Ferranti (Democratic incumbent), Audrey Clement (independent), David Sisson (independent)
School Board: Bethany Zecher Sutton (Democratic incumbent), James “Vell” Rives IV (independent)
Treasurer (special election with Aug. 14 filing deadline): Kim Rucker (anticipated Democratic nominee), Aasim Rawoot (independent)
State constitutional amendments: Amendments related to abortion access, same-sex marriage and restoration of voting rights for felons
County bond referendums: Five local bond referendums, including $69.7 million for Metro/transportation, $34.9 million for parks/recreation, $58.8 million for community infrastructure, $20.7 million for utilities and $80 million for schools
Photo 2 via Don Beyer/Facebook
