By far, the most closely watched races were between the five candidates running to be Virginia's next governor.
Northam dispatched Tom Perriello in a heavily attended primary, vanquishing the former one-term congressman's claim that a big turnout - fueled by his emphasis on national issues and the support of such progressive headliners as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren - augured a win for his last-minute insurgent candidacy.
With Northam's endorsements from a significant portion of the state's Democratic establishment, as well as from The Washington Post, and his easy defeat of Perriello, Tuesday's primary could be a roadmap for the type of candidates Democrats will seek going into the 2018 midterm elections.
"We will run a tireless campaign to make sure that we can get Virginia moving again", said Gillespie, who declined to take questions from reporters.
A Stewart victory in the primary would, in effect, put Trump on the ballot - making November's election a clear referendum on the president and his policies and style.
Virginia's gubernatorial contest has received widespread national attention as the swing state is one of only two states electing new governors this year.
"I trust his leadership".
"Initial takeaways are that Northam performed strongly in the Urban Crescent- Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads-and that was all he had to do in the end", says Geoffrey Skelly of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "He cares for everyone".
But Stewart may face an uphill battle when it comes to pleading his case, as Republicans across the state are hoping to unify after the race proved to be such a nail-biter.
"There is one word you will never hear from me, and that's unity", Stewart said in his campaign. "Tomorrow morning, Jill Vogel, John Adams and I begin a statewide tour where we'll take this campaign to every corner of our Commonwealth and every voter in Virginia", stated Gillespie in an email. But Stewart repeatedly blasted the former Washington lobbyist as a product of the "swamp" Trump had pledged to drain.
Wounded Congressman Scalise needs several more surgeries, hospital says
Barth and Williams both credited the Capitol Police officers who were at the field with Scalise for saving their lives. The congressman says he hit the ground immediately but he was afraid he'd be an open target if he stayed there.
Chapman conceded Stewart may have gone a too far with his embrace of Confederate heritage, but figured it was just a campaign shtick. "I commend him, and we agreed that we're going to bring all Democrats under the tent starting tonight".
He promises "to continue the revolution that Donald Trump started".
"This really does show we have a deeply divided party", Nohe said.
Associated Press reporters Ben Finley in Norfolk, Jessica Gresko in Arlington, and Alanna Durkin Richer in Richmond contributed to this report.
Virginia voters cast their ballots in the Democratic primary Tuesday, choosing their candidates for the gubernatorial, lieutenant gubernatorial and House of Delegates races. Among those, two incumbents - Ron Villanueva, who represents part of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, and Bobby Orrock, who represents parts of Caroline and Spotsylvania counties - both defeated primary challengers. And back in 2005 only 175K Republicans came out to vote for Jerry Kilgore who would eventually lose to former Governor-turned-State Senator Tim Kaine. And in the past decade, both Republicans and Democrats have managed to keep their party pretty organized when it comes to primaries with as little dispute as possible, or running a convention as was the case with the GOP back in 2013 when Ken Cuccinelli lost to our current Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Northam raised almost $6.5 million in the primary compared to Perriello's $4 million haul, which helped the lieutenant governor saturate Washington-area television stations with ads over the last few weeks.
So was almost every Democratic member of the state's House delegation and statehouse and local-elected officials.
Corey Stewart, a Minnesota-born lawyer with a soft spot for the Confederacy, almost pulled off a stunning upset in Tuesday's Republican primary for governor of Virginia.
Gillespie dominated his challengers in fundraising efforts.
Under the Virginia Constitution, the governor is limited to a four-year term, which means McAuliffe can not run for re-election this year.
By late Tuesday, statewide tallies showed Northam beat Perriello handily.
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