RICHMOND, VA — In one of the first voter responses after the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam won the Democratic nomination for Virginia governor in the June 13 primary, while the Republican race went down to the final precinct counts before former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie was declared the winner.

Northam led former Congressman Tom Perriello with 56 percent to 44 percent of the votes cast with 99 percent of the votes counted Tuesday night. The second-place finisher on the GOP side, Corey Stewart, refused Tuesday to support his party's winner and was mulling a request for a recount in the race decided by only a 1 percent margin.

Given its proximity to the nation's capital and the ties some of the candidates have to both national political parties, the election has garnered national attention. For the Democrats, establishment figure Northam quashed progressive standard-bearer Perriello, who was seen as a Bernie Sanders-like idealist by his supporters. On the GOP side, Gillespie had a healthy lead in recent polls over two regionally known candidates, one of whom was Stewart, who made it a point to campaign in front of Confederate soldier statues.

The winners from each party will run for the state's top political office Nov. 7 in the general election.

Gillespie edged Stewart by 1.2 percent with 43.71 percent of the vote count to 42.53 percent, according to the state election website.

Stewart may have won his home area of Prince William County by nearly 30 percentage points, but when the votes began rolling in from the more "northern" areas of Northern Virginia late in the evening, Gillespie pulled away from his Confederate flag-boosting challenger. Gillespie won Fairfax County 47.7 to 39.0 percent, Arlington County 61.4 to 25.7 and Falls Church 62.9 to 26.0.

Gillespie said in an email to supporters. "As your Republican nominee to become the next Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I promise to continue running a campaign that will make you proud, that will unify our party, and will lead our ticket to victory in November."

But Stewart wasn't pledging to help unify the party when he spoke to his supporters in Woodbridge Tuesday night.

He referred to Gillespie as "Establishment Ed" and said, "There is one word you will never hear from me, and that's 'unity,'" Stewart said, according to The Washington Post. "We've been backing down too long. We've been backing down too long in defense of our culture, and our heritage and our country."

The Northam campaign sent an email to supporters Tuesday night taking aim at Gillespie as the GOP nominee.

"I am humbled and honored to be your Democratic nominee for governor of Virginia. We ran this primary based on the idea that we can build a commonwealth that works for everyone, no matter who you are, no matter where you're from — because that's part of what makes Virginia the place we love," Northam wrote. "We made it clear: We aren't going to let Ed Gillespie bring Donald Trump's hate into Virginia. We've fought tooth and nail to make progress in this commonwealth, and we're not going to stop now."

In the lieutenant governor's race, Justin Fairfax won the Democratic nomination with 48 percent as 89 percent of the votes were counted. On the Republican side, Jill Vogel slightly edged Bryce Reeves 43 to 40 percent.

Alexandria voters largely voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, and most voters Patch talked to at the City Hall voting precinct Tuesday afternoon said they were voting for Northam or Perriello. Northam had a slight edge among voters, although a few said they were torn.

Voter Laura Wood said, "They were more or less the same." But she ended up casting her ballot for Northam because he has spent more time serving in Virginia (Perriello served in Congress and in the State Department).

Lew Biglow had similar thoughts. "It was kind of a hard choice. They were both good. [Northam] was a little better." He paused, and said before driving away, "Anything but a Republican."

Virginia is the only state barring governors from serving consecutive terms, so Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is not eligible to run. His second-in-command, Northam, is running against former Congressman Perriello for the Democratic nomination. In the Republican race, candidates include former GOP chairman Gillespie, Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart and state Sen. Frank Wagner.

(Get more local and statewide coverage by subscribing to real time alerts and a Patch newsletter. iPhone users can download the Patch app in the App Store.)

Recent polling showed Gillespie with a substantial lead over his fellow Republican candidates, while Perriello and Northam are in a tighter race. In a mid-May Washington Post poll, Gillespie garners 38 percent, compared to the 18 percent for Stewart and the 15 percent for Wagner. On the Democratic side, Perriello received 40 percent to Northam's 38 percent, a two-point lead that could be within a margin of error.

Looking ahead to a general election matchup could signal more trouble for Gillespie. According to a Washington Post poll released May 22, both of the Democratic candidates have double-digit leads in a general election campaign. Perriello beats Gillespie 50-37, and Northam beats him 49-38.

But the straw poll results from local groups are not the same, at least on the Democratic side. Republican Gillespie won the straw poll in Stewart's own Prince William County, as well as Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. On the Democratic side, Northam won straw polls held by Rep. Gerry Connolly and Del Alfonso Lopez, as well as those in Alexandria, Arlington and Mount Vernon.

The Republican majority in the House of Delegates is also at stake. All 100 House of Delegates are up for election. But voters in most districts will not see these candidates on the primary ballots; only 24 districts have candidates running opposed in the primary.

In addition to the governor candidates, Virginia voters will also choose a lieutenant governor nominee. Justin Fairfax, Gene Rossi and Susan Platt are running for the Democratic nomination, while Bryce Reeves, Glenn Davis, Jr. and Jill Vogel are running for the Republican nomination.

Polling Times on Election Day

Polls close at 7 p.m. Virginia voters must provide acceptable photo identification before voting. View sample ballots for the Democratic and Republican primaries and find your polling place.

Check back with Patch as soon as polls close for live Virginia Republican and Democratic primary results.

4 p.m. - Registrar of Falls Church Dave Bjerke released a vote count as of 4 p.m.:
Thomas Jefferson Elementary: 499, Oakwood: 415, Community Center: 499
Total: 1413 or 14.8 percent, total with absentee: 17.3 percent turnout

4 p.m. - The City of Alexandria released a voter turnout update:
As of 4 p.m., 13.62 percent of active Alexandria voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary and 2.97 percent in the Republican primary.

3:45 p.m. - Voting precincts usually hang posters in polling places stating that campaigners must stay 40 feet away from the building entrance. The City of Alexandria took it a step further to specify this rule, layout out yellow do-not-cross tape.

Image via Patch staff

2 p.m. - Fairfax County released an 8.6 percent voter turnout estimate as of 2 p.m. Total for Democrats is 6.1 percent and Republicans 2.5 percent. Another update is expected at 6 p.m.

9:30 a.m. - A voter in Richmond posts that roadwork convinced her to delay voting until the evening.

8:15 a.m. - Voters begin to trickle in at polling places in Northern Virginia. At Longfellow Middle School in Falls Church, there is no line to vote.

Image via Patch staff

6 a.m. - Polls open in Virginia.

READ ALSO:

Campaigns Make Last Pitches To Virginia Voters

Candidates traveled across Virginia for last minute "Get Out the Vote" events and continued to rack up endorsements through Tuesday.

Democrats focused on all but guaranteed blue areas: Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. McAuliffe, his wife Dorothy and Attorney General Mark Herring are campaigning for Northam through Tuesday in these areas. Northam has collected endorsements from just about every Democratic elected official in Virginia, from the governor to General Assembly members. He will end the day with an election night party in Arlington.

Perriello, who was endorsed by progressives such as Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, made a number of stops in Hamptons Roads and Northern Virginia, ending in a Fairfax rally with Gold Star father Khizr Khan. On Tuesday, he will visit polling places throughout the day and have an election night party in Falls Church.

Republicans have made appearances in large metropolitan areas as well, but they have also frequented more rural, traditionally Republican areas. Over the weekend and Monday, Gillespie campaigned in Northern Virginia, including a stop at Celebrate Fairfax, before heading to Richmond for Election Day results. Similar to Northam, Gillespie picked up endorsements from many Republican state lawmakers and national names like Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

On Monday, Stewart campaigned in Chesapeake and Lynchburg in between stops at Confederate statues, which has become his top talking point. The Prince William County head lost key votes from colleagues, who cite his support for Confederate symbols. But the anti-establishment candidate has support from gun rights group Virginia Citizens Defense League and Tea Party Nation. Stewart will head to his home of Woodbridge for an election night party.

Wagner, who trails Gillespie and Stewart in the polls, has campaigned in more rural areas near Roanoke and Danville in the days leading up to the primary. Although Wagner has support from fewer officials, he received The Washington Post's endorsement.

Democrats have the advantage in early voting, according to ballots counted a day before the election. As of June 12, the Department of Elections counted 23,774 Democratic and 12,016 Republican absentee ballots that have been returned.

After Election Day

Following Election Day, voters can hear the platforms from each party going into the general election.

Democrats will gather at George Mason University in Fairfax Wednesday at 11 a.m. Confirmed speakers include Northam, Perriello, Gov. and First Lady McAuliffe, Herring, Virginia House Democratic Leader David Toscano and the lieutenant governor candidate.

The Republican nominee for governor and lieutenant governor will join Attorney General candidate John Adams in a statewide tour on Wednesday, June 14. Candidates will visit Fairfax County, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Roanoke and Bristol throughout the day. Voters interested in attending should sign up for tickets.

Patch editors Skip Wood and Dan Taylor contributed to this story.

Image via Patch

Subscribe