Over the past month, voters in the Prince William County area went to the polls to vote for their candidates in the respective primaries. On Tuesday night, the results demonstrated a shift in leadership, as some incumbents held on in tightly contested races.

Two of the biggest races concerned the Senatorial primaries. Democratic candidate Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, who lost her gubernatorial bid in 2021, defeated former lieutenant governor nominee Del. Hala Ayala by a 62% to 37% percentage point margin in SD33. While that race was never in doubt, the other local senatorial race is for both parties. 

Incumbent Democratic Senator Jeremy McPike is in a close race with Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (HD-31) for the SD29 primary, with the margin being less than .5%, which constitutes an immediate recount. On the Republican side, candidate Maria Martin has a .2% lead over Nikki Rattray Baldwin. Bill Woolf easily defeated Robert Ruffolo by a 70% to 29% percent margin in SD30. 

Unfortunately, the SD27 Democratic primary ended with Benjamin Litchfield, who was endorsed by PW Perspective, losing to venture capitalist Joel Griffin. Griffin will go on to face Republican Del. Tara Durant and independent candidate Monica Gary in the November general election.

One of the more interesting races was in the new HD19, which was created due to redistricting. Rozia “J.R.” Henson narrowly defeated Makya Little, both of whom were endorsed by PW Perspective. Natalie Shorter, who was also in the Democratic primary placed third. 

Former Republican Supervisor John Stirrup easily won HD21 over Josh Quill. 

Some of the biggest noise came from the supervisor races themselves. In the Potomac District, Democratic incumbent Andrea Bailey easily defeated challenger Kim Short with 72% of the vote. In the Neabsco District, Democratic incumbent Vic Angry narrowly defeated Hylton Coach Nate Murphy after trailing most of the evening. 

As for the Chairman vote, Republican and current Brentsville Supervisor Jeanine Lawson easily defeated Kenn Knarr. However, Knarr is contesting the results as of press time.

Perhaps the most contested race in the county ended in an upset with Deshundra Jefferson ousting incumbent Chair Ann Wheeler in the Democratic primary. Jefferson, who boasts a long career of leadership in Democratic politics, will go on to face Lawson in the general election. PW Perspective proudly endorsed Jefferson. Jefferson’s victory in the Democratic primary marks a historic moment in Prince William County as the election, which will likely result in a Democratic victory, will see the county elect the first Black chair of the Board of County Supervisors.

PW Perspective is proud to support Rozia “J.R.” Henson for Delegate and Deshundra Jefferson for Chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.