The June 11 primary election is Tuesday. Since Virginia has “open” primaries, most voters in Chesterfield County will be able to vote for at least one race, depending on where they live.
Senate District 16 voters will most likely choose their next senator on June 11, since no Republican filed, although the deadline for independent candidates to file is also June 11.
Incumbent Rosalyn Dance is nearing the end of her first complete term. She was initially elected to the state Senate in 2014 to serve the remainder of former Sen. Henry Marsh’s term and followed by winning again in 2015.
Joe Morrissey is challenging Dance, and there appears to be no love lost between them. Dance has touted her willingness to work across the aisle with Republicans, while Morrissey has also said that he did so for the eight-plus years in which he was a state delegate.
Morrissey, 61, has criticized Dance, 71, for lack of improvement in Petersburg, where Dance served as mayor and councilwoman for 12 years, and for taking money from Dominion Energy, which he swore off. He also said Dance arrived “late to the dance,” so to speak, in regard to recycling the state’s coal ash and was in the pocket of Dominion in that she favored a cap-in-place remedy that environmentalists decried. He also criticized her for a “push poll” that he said criticized his relationship with his 23-year-old wife, Myrna.
Dance has touted her effectiveness as a state legislator, including the passage this year of SB 1406, which increased school counselor staffing ratios at all grade levels. Dance also noted that she was endorsed by the Virginia Education Association and EMILY’s List, the latter which supports pro-abortion-choice women for public office.
If you don’t live in Senate District 16, you might have another race. Three Republicans – Kevin Carroll, Craig Stariha and Rob Thompson – are vying for their party’s nomination for Matoaca District county supervisor; two Democrats – Lindsey Dougherty and Tavorise Marks – are running for Riley Ingram’s state House District 62 seat; two Democrats – Amanda Pohl and Wayne Powell – are running for the state Senate District 10 seat currently occupied by Republican Amanda Chase; and three Democrats – Eileen Bedell, Zachary Brown and Ghazala Hashmi – are vying to be nominated to run against Republican incumbent Glen Sturtevant in Senate District 10, the latter which includes the northern edge of the Dale District.
