By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Republican Luther Cifers was successful in his bid to win the 10th District state senate seat recently vacated by Rep. John McGuire.
McGuire, a Republican, is heading to Washington, D.C., after defeating his Democratic opponent, Gloria Witt, in the race for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District.
When all the votes were tallied after Tuesday’s special election (Jan. 7), Cifers, a businessman and political newcomer, carried the 10th District by 58.8 percent to Democratic challenger Jack Trammell’s 41.2 percent.
Those percentages were reversed in Fluvanna, where 57 percent of the vote went to Trammell and 42.8 percent to Cifers. Fluvanna was one of only three localities in the 10-county district to go for Trammell, along with Henrico and Prince Edward counties.
As a special election with early voting over the busy holiday weeks and Election Day immediately following a major winter storm, turnout was light through the district. Only 2,971 votes were cast in Fluvanna, a turnout rate of 14 percent.
Still, it was enough to send Cifers to Richmond.
“A lot of people believed in me and decided to trust me with this responsibility,” he said in a statement after his victory. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that their trust is well placed.”
