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Virginia s only socialist state lawmaker lost his reelection bid and says he s glad to be leaving.
Del. Lee Carter, representing Washington, D.C. s exurbs in Northern Virginia, lost two races on Tuesday. He finished far behind Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe in his bid for governor and was defeated in his own renomination contest by Michelle E. Lopes-Maldonado, a former attorney and small-business owner.
The twin losses likely bring to a close one of the more colorful careers in state politics in recent memory. Carter, a retired Marine, won his legislative seat in 2017 with a campaign focused on single-payer healthcare and limiting contributions to politicians.
I have known Del. Charles Poindexter since he served with distinction on the Franklin County Board of Supervisors. He well represented and was a strong steward of his District, Franklin
BY THE EDITORIAL PAGE STAFF OF THE FREE LANCE-STAR
STATE government in Virginia used to be almost an afterthought, as most voters focused their attention on congressional and local races in non-presidential years. They paid attention to gubernatorial races every four years, but many members of the General Assembly ran unopposed, especially in off years, and only a minority of their constituents even knew their names.
No more. Thereâs no better example of how competitive these part-time legislative seats have become than the number of candidates running for them.
With all 100 seats in the House of Delegates up for grabs this year, there are even challengers to 15 House incumbents (12 Democrats and three Republicans) from their own party, including some high-profile Democrats such as Delegates Lee Carter, D-50th, and Elizabeth Guzman, D-31st, in Prince William County; Mark Levine, D-45th, in Arlington; and Kaye Kory, D-38th, and Ibraheem Samirah, D-86th, in Fairfax.
EDITORIAL: Court packing is still a bad idea fredericksburg.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fredericksburg.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.