VA House 35 Special Election: Seibold Claims Victory Over Baroudi

VIENNA, VA — Democrat Holly Seibold claimed victory over Republican Monique Baroudi in the special election for the House of Delegates 35th District Tuesday.

The special election was held after former Del. Mark Keam resigned to take a deputy assistant secretary position in the International Trade Administration. The winning candidate will fill the vacant House 35 seat for the remainder of the term until January 2024.

"I am beyond grateful to the voters of the 35th District for electing me to the Virginia House of Delegates," Seibold tweeted in response to her unofficial win. "Virginia rejected extremism in 2022, and in 2023, we have rejected it again. Because equality, justice, and freedom are Virginian values!"

Unofficial results are coming in through the Virginia Department of Elections website. With 22 of 23 precincts reporting, Seibold had 7,321 votes, and Baroudi had 3,555 votes.

Seibold said she will be sworn in Wednesday, which is when the Virginia General Assembly begins its session.

"Then we get down to the tough business of working together to solve our Commonwealth’s greatest problems," Seibold tweeted. "But for tonight, I am happy to be in Vienna surrounded by the people who made this happen."

Seibold is a former teacher who founded an educational firm and the nonprofit BRAWS, which provides menstrual supplies and undergarments to women and girls. Baroudi is an Oakton resident and information technology professional who had attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

The district includes the Town of Vienna and parts of Oakton, Fair Oaks, Dunn Loring and Tysons. Only voters in 20 Fairfax County precincts were eligible to vote in the special election: 204 Madison, 213 Vienna #1, 214 Vienna #2, 216 Vienna #4, 218 Vienna #6, 701 Blake, 704 Freedom Hill, 720 Thoreau, 726 Magarity, 727 Oakton, 729 Nottoway, 731 Tysons, 732 Oak Marr, 733 Kilmer, 734 Hunters Branch, 735 Rotonda, 802 Cedar Lake, 844 Centerpointe, 856 Penderbrook, and 857 Island Pond.

The winner will complete the rest of the term with the current district boundaries. The House is controlled by Republicans, while the Senate is controlled by Democrats.

The new 35th House of Delegates representative will face re-election in 2023 with a redrawn district. The 35th House District will become the 12th House District with the new term beginning in early 2024. That new district will include parts of Vienna, Oakton, Tysons, Dunn Loring, Merrifield and Mantua.

In 2023, there will be Virginia House and Senate elections, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and School Board elections, and Vienna Town Council elections. If a primary election is called, it would be held on June 20, 2023.