RSSRepublicans gain two Fairfax House seats in election
Tuesday vote followed statewide trends
Two of the local seats that flipped from Republican to Democrat in recent years are now back in Republican hands after Tuesday's state elections.
Two-term incumbent Democrat C. Charles Caputo lost his re-election bid in his Chantilly-area swing district. Republican James M. LeMunyon took the 67th District with more than 52 percent of the vote.
In McLean, freshman Del. Margaret G. Vanderhye (D) fell to Republican challenger Barabara Comstock by fewer than 300 votes, according to unofficial election results.
After winning the presidency last fall, Democrats were hoping to take control of the Virginia House of Delegates in time for the 2011 redistricting. Instead, they found themselves bogged down by a weak gubernatorial candidate at the top of the ticket and a national backlash against their party due to actions in Washington, D.C.
As Chantilly voter Bruce Phinney put it, many people voted Republican because of "frustration with the Democrats on all levels ... taxes, spending habits."
State Senate seats were not up for a vote this year, so that body will remain under Democratic control, which could result in legislative logjams in upcoming sessions.
Three Fairfax County seats were open, without incumbents, this year and all three remained in Democratic hands.
Mark L. Keam will take the Vienna and Oakton-area seat held by Del. Stephen Shannon (D), who ran for attorney general and could not seek re-election. Keam will be the first Korean-American in the legislature.
In the Falls Church area, School Board member L. Kaye Kory, a Democrat, will replace longtime Del. Robert Hull (D), whom Kory unseated during a June primary.
Democrat Scott Surovell easily won the Alexandria district now held by Del. Kris Amundson (D) who decided not to seek re-election so she could focus on her business.
In the two other hotly contested races in Fairfax County, the Republican incumbents stayed put. Dels. Thomas Davis Rust (R-Herndon) and David B. Albo (R-Springfield) both won re-election, despite aggressive challenges.
Unofficial results in Fairfax County delegate races:
34th District (McLean, Great Falls) - Barbara J. Comstock (R) 50 percent; Margaret G. Vanderhye (D) 49 percent 35th District (Vienna, Oakton) - Mark L. Keam (D) 50 percent; James E. Hyland (R) 49 percent 36th District (Reston) - Kenneth R. Plum (D) 60 percent; Hugh M. "Mac" Cannon (R) 40 percent 37th District (Fairfax) - David L. Bulova (D) 67 percent; Christopher F. DeCarlo (I) 25 percent; Anna M. Choi (IG) 7 percent 38th District (Falls Church) - L. Kaye Kory (D) 59 percent; Danny R. Smith (R) 40 percent 39th District (Annandale) - Vivian E. Watts (D) 56 percent; Joseph G. Bury (R) 39 percent; Matt J. Cholko (L) 3 percent; James E. Leslie (IG) 1 percent 40th District (Centreville, Clifton) - Timothy D. Hugo (R) 62 percent; Sue S. Conrad (D) 38 percent 41st District (Burke) - Dave W. Marsden (D) 50 percent; Kerry D. Bolognese (R) 48 percent; C. Monique Berry (IG) 2 percent 42nd District (Springfield, Fairfax Station) - David B. Albo (R) 56 percent; Greg A. Werkheiser (D) 44 percent 43rd District (Alexandria) - Mark D. Sickles (D) 56 percent; Tim D. Nank (R) 43 percent 44th District (Alexandria) - Scott A. Surovell (D) 53 percent; James E. McConville (R) 45 percent; Glenda Gail Parker (IG) 2 percent 45th District (Alexandria) - David L. Englin (D) 61 percent; Vicki L. Vasques (R) 38 percent 46th District (Alexandria) - Charniele L. Herring (D) 64 percent; Sasha Gong (R) 32 percent 49th District (Alexandria) - Adam P. Ebbin (D) 96 percent (uncontested) 53rd District (Merrifield) - James M. Scott (D) 61 percent; Christopher D. Merola (R) 38 percent 67th District (Chantilly, Oak Hill, South Riding) -James M. LeMunyon (R) 52 percent; C. Charles Caputo (D) 47 percent 86th District (Herndon, Oak Hill, Sterling) - Thomas Davis Rust (R) 54 percent; Stevens R. Miller (D) 46 percent.
Staff Writer Holly Hobbs contributed to this report.