The unofficial results statewide show Democrat incumbent Rep. Elaine Luria and Republican Scott Taylor in a close race for the 2nd Congressional District seat in Virginia.
As of 1 a.m. Wednesday with 180 out of the 183 precincts reporting, Taylor had 155,144 votes (46.85%) compared to Luria’s 167,593 votes (50.61%) statewide, according to the Virginia Department of Elections’ website.
While the Virginia Department of Elections posted the unofficial results from voting precincts in the state on Tuesday, due to the coronavirus pandemic, absentee ballots can be accepted until noon on Friday, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
The official elections results will be certified on Nov. 16, according to the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Based on the early results, as of 11:25 p.m. on Tuesday, all three localities in the Historic Triangle have all their precincts reported.
Luria won Williamsburg and James City County with 4,677 votes (68.71 percent) and 5,177 votes (55.16 percent) respectively.
York County went for Taylor with 19,677 votes (51.68 percent).
Representatives from both campaigns were not immediately available Tuesday night.
The 2nd Congressional District includes Accomack and Northampton counties, portions of York County, and the cities of Virginia Beach and Williamsburg and parts of the cities of Norfolk and Hampton, according to WYDaily archives.
Both Taylor and Luria are Navy veterans. Luria served 20 years and is a former Navy commander. Taylor is a former Navy seal.
Taylor had previously served in the 2nd Congressional District seat for one term and lost to Luria in the November 2018 election.
During the 2018 election season, Taylor’s campaign staff was filled with controversy. His campaign staff had allegedly forged signatures to put Democrat Shaun Brown as an independent on the ballot for the 2018 election.
While Taylor has not been charged in connection with the scandal and has maintained his innocence, three people including two staffers and a consultant for his campaign have been charged with election fraud.
Former staffer Robert Marciano, 24, told a judge she” falsified campaign documents” to put Brown on the ballot and was fined $1,0000 and given a one year suspended sentence.
The other former campaign staffer, Lauren Peabody, pleaded guilty to “woeful neglect of election duties” — a misdemeanor charge — and was also fined $1,000 and suspended sentence of 12 months.
Heather Guillot, the consultant for Taylor’s 2018 campaign, was indicted and accused of “submitting forged signatures of voters in order to get a third-party spoiler candidate on the 2018 ballot.”
Here are the unofficial results by locality as of 11:25 p.m. on Tuesday:
York County
2nd Congressional District: (14 out of 14 precincts reporting)
- Elaine G. Luria, Democrat (Incumbent): 17,371 votes, 45.63 percent
- Scott W. Taylor, Republican: 19,677 votes, 51.68 percent
- David Bruce Foster, Independent: 999 votes, 2.62 percent
- Write-in: 26 votes, 0.07 percent
James City County
1st Congressional District: (15 out of 15 precincts reporting)
- Qasim Rashid, Democrat: 15,378 votes, 44.69 percent
- Robert J. Wittman, Republican (Incumbent): 19,001 votes, 55.21 percent
- Write-in: 35 votes, 0.10 percent
2nd Congressional District: (8 out of 8 precincts reporting)
- Elaine G. Luria, Democrat (Incumbent): 5,177 votes, 55.16 percent
- Scott W. Taylor, Republican: 3,958 votes, 42.17 percent
- David Bruce Foster, Independent: 243 votes, 2.59 percent
- Write-in: 8 votes, 0.09 percent
City of Williamsburg (3 out of 3 precincts reporting)
2nd Congressional District:
- Elaine G. Luria, Democrat (Incumbent): 4,677 votes, 68.71 percent
- Scott W. Taylor, Republican: 1,958 votes, 28.76 percent
- David Bruce Foster, Independent: 166 votes, 2.44 percent
- Write-in: 6 votes, 0.09 percent
This story will be updated.
