The Nov. 3 midterm ballot has been set, with Democrat Shannon Taylor selected to face off against incumbent 1st District Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Montross, in the local Congressional race, while Republican Bert Mizusawa will contest incumbent Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, for the United States Senate seat. Taylor and Mizusawa easily defeated their opponents in the Aug. 4 dual-party primary, with each receiving more than 50 percent of the votes cast.
In the 1st Congressional District, which includes all of Middlesex County, Taylor took 53.11 percent of the votes (24,912), with Salaam Bhatti coming in second place in a seven-candidate field, with Bhatti getting 19.66 percent (9,223 votes).
Mizusawa, meanwhile, took 51.47 percent of the Republican votes statewide (122,056 votes cast), far outpacing both of his opponents—David Williams (28.91 percent; 68,561 votes) and Kim Farrington (19.61 percent; 46,501 votes).
Local results mirrored those both in the Congressional District and statewide, with both Taylor and Mizusawa winning every precinct in Middlesex. Overall participation was low in the county, with 7 percent of 9,071 registered voters in Middlesex participating in either of the two primaries.
(The preceding story is modified from the original version, which appeared in the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal.)
