McLean Businessman Wins GOP 'Firehouse Primary' for 34th House of Delegates District

More than 1,400 voters came out to nominate a Republican candidate to succeed Congresswoman-elect Barbara Comstock in the 34th House of Delegates District.

Craig Parisot won with 58 percent of the vote. The final tally for Saturday’s Firehouse Primary was 821 votes for Craig Parisot and 594 for Al Johnson.

Parisot will face Democrat Kathleen Murphy, who is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Murphy, a small business owner, barely lost to Comstock in last year’s election.

Republicans are rallying around their nominee, a businessman who most recently, was the executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Altamira Technologies Corporation.

“We stand fully behind Craig and his campaign to succeed Barbara Comstock, and we are confident that he will run an aggressive and effective campaign, resulting in victory on January 6, 2015,” the Fairfax County Republican Committee said in a statement.

“Al Johnson proved himself a worthy competitor,” the group noted. “An outstanding candidate, with an exceptional record of achievement, he ran a great race, and his experience and professionalism during the campaign have shown him to be an asset to our Party. We thank Al for having the courage to run and look forward to working with him in the future.”

Next stop: Special election, set for Jan. 6.

PHOTO from Craig Parisot campaign Web site