Much is at stake with Election 2024, including Senate and Congressional races in Virginia, and four seats on Staunton City Council.
With 61 percent of Staunton voters arriving at five polling sites on Tuesday, early voting, mail-in and provisional ballots have not been counted yet.
Nearly 52 percent of Staunton voters were in favor of former President Donald Trump, while nearly 46 percent voted for Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
In the U.S. Senate race, 51 percent cast their vote for Republican Hung Cao and nearly 48.7 percent for Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, who seeks a third term in office. The vote totals Tuesday night were 3,023 for Cao and 2,881 for Kaine in Staunton.
Republican Ben Cline, the incumbent of Virginia’s District 6, received the majority of Stauntonian votes with 54.5 percent and Democrat Ken Mitchell received 42.6 percent of votes.
Cassandra Taylor has lived in Staunton for most of her life and said she was most excited about voting today so she could vote for Harris for president.
“I just feel like 1. she’s not a racist, she’s for women, women’s rights. The other candidate, I feel, is dangerous,” Taylor, who voted in Ward 3 at Gypsy Hill Park gymnasium, said.
She said she usually votes Democrat so she also voted for Sen. Tim Kaine for U.S. Senate and for Ken Mitchell for U.S. Congress.
She brought her daughter, Chloe Taylor, 19, who voted for the very first time.
Chloe Taylor, who also voted Democrat, said she did not feel pressure from her mom or anyone else to vote one way or another and it was “pretty important” for her to cast her vote in Election 2024. She followed the local candidates and actually informed her mom about them.
“I think that it would be cool to have a female president, especially a Black one,” Chloe Taylor said. Women’s rights are also “very important” for her.
In Kaine’s advertising to run for his third term in the U.S. Senate representing Virginia, Chloe Taylor said she was inclined to vote for him because “he’s for Virginia.”
Christopher Welker has lived in Staunton since 2008 and formerly served as the city’s fire chief. A convicted felon, Welker said his right to vote was restored in 2021, he voted in 2023 and today’s election was only the second time he has voted.
“The fact that I was able to do it,” Welker, who does not watch the news or follow politics, said of what encouraged him to vote today in Ward 3.
Welker attended three different colleges, holds an associate’s degree and is pursuing completion of his bachelor’s degree.
For Staunton City Council, Welker said he made sure to vote for Dan Gunnells who described himself in Election Day material as being purpose-driven and community focused.
“It was worded in a way that he could get things done,” Welker said of Gunnells.
Raised Republican, Welker chose Cao for U.S. Senate and Cline for U.S. Congress. He added that he voted for Cao, a retired U.S. Navy captain, because his late sister served in the U.S. Air Force.
However, for U.S. president, Welker voted for Harris.
“Trump — he’s done his run. I feel he’s too comfortable,” Welker said of the former president. He said Trump took the race “to a new level” and was surrounded by too much controversy. “He’s making a mockery.”
Welker also voted for Harris because of her experience as an attorney.
Welker added that while he was raised Republican, he thanks Democrats for the support he has received as an adult with food stamps and public assistance.
Barbara Blitz has lived in Staunton since 2014 and voted in Ward 4 at Seventh Day Adventist Church.
“I support him in this election,” Blitz said of Trump. “I am Jewish and I think he will be better for Israel and the U.S.”
According to Blitz, Harris did nothing to be a presidential candidate in the 2024 race and has done nothing to protect the U.S. border from immigration.
“I change my vote depending on who’s running,” Blitz said of whether she consistently votes Republican or Democrat.
Jane Del Conte has lived in Staunton for 24 years and also voted in Ward 4.
“I voted Donald Trump. I think that he will make our country more secure and close the borders.”
Del Conte said that she believes crime levels have risen during President Joe Biden‘s term.
“I just think it needs to be taken care of,” Del Conte, a registered Independent voter, said.
Nearly 94 percent of Staunton voters were in favor of a Virginia constitutional amendment that the tax exemption that is currently available to the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action is also available to the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty.
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Rebecca Barnabi
