Bennett-Parker wins Senate primary, will face Republican Lineberry in Feb. 10 special election
Delegate dominates four-way race; results announced nearly 8 hours after polls closed
Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker cruised to victory in Tuesday’s firehouse primary for Virginia Senate District 39, capturing 70.6% of the vote, the Alexandria Democratic Committee announced around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Bennett-Parker received 3,281 votes. Former Del. Mark Levine finished second with 807 votes (17.4%), followed by activist Charles Costen-Sumpter with 321 votes (6.9%) and former Vice Mayor Amy Jackson with 238 votes (5.1%).
A total of 4,647 voters cast ballots — about 3.1% of the district’s 151,411 registered voters.
The results came nearly eight hours after polls closed, with volunteers hand-counting ballots at the party’s Mt. Vernon Avenue headquarters.
What’s next
Bennett-Parker will face Republican Julie Robbens Lineberry in the Feb. 10 special election. The seat carries significant weight — Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the Virginia Senate, and the legislative session began Wednesday morning in Richmond.
Lineberry, a longtime Alexandria resident and realtor, was named the GOP nominee late Monday after Republicans canceled a planned party canvass. Her political roots run deep: she worked on Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign and in the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations before becoming a real estate agent in 1977.
She has nearly 50 years of community involvement, including 10 years on the Alexandria Electoral Board, a term as president of TWIG (the Inova Alexandria Hospital Auxiliary), and more than 60 years of Girl Scout leadership. She chaired the Alexandria Republican Committee in the mid-1970s.
Cascade of elections
Bennett-Parker’s departure from the House of Delegates will trigger another special election to fill her District 5 seat. Alexandria City Councilman Kirk McPike has said he is “strongly considering” a run, which could create a vacancy on City Council.
This is a developing story.
