ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) — Tens of thousands of Virginians are casting ballots to choose nominees for governor and other statewide offices.
The Republican Party is holding what it’s calling an “unassembled convention” on Saturday to select its nominees in this year’s race for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009.
Because pandemic restrictions ban mass gatherings, delegates are casting ballots at nearly 40 polling sites across the state.
More than 53,000 Virginians successfully pre-registered as delegates. GOP officials rejected applications from roughly 700 would-be delegates. Virginia is the only state with an open-seat gubernatorial race this year.
Four candidates — Amanda Chase, Kirk Cox, Pete Snyder and Glenn Youngkin — all have a shot at winning the nomination in a race that where no clear favorite has been established.
Polling closes at 4 p.m. Saturday, but the party won’t even begin counting ballots until Sunday.
It may take several days to finish the count, which is complicated by ranked-choice voting and proportional representation that is awarded to each city and county.
Democrats will choose their gubernatorial nominee in a primary next month. Former governor Terry McAuliffe is the frontrunner in a field of five Democrats.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is barred from seeking reelection under Virginia’s term limit rules.
Click the link below to hear convention speeches from GOP candidates for statewide office:
https://virginia.gop/2021-nomination/
