By Grace Mamon
Virginia voters chose Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Warner for the national races. But the country is still waiting for final vote counts in crucial states before celebrating or lamenting about who will be in the White House.
Here is a final tally in key races of interest in the Rockbridge area:
President
A majority of Lexington City voters picked Biden, who garnered almost 65 percent of the votes. This is more than Hillary Clinton received in 2016 in the city. Incumbent President Donald Trump trailed with around 33 percent of the votes.
But Buena Vista and Rockbridge County preferred Trump.
Almost 66 percent of Buena Vista voters picked the incumbent president. Biden received about 30 percent of the votes in the city. Buena Vista had the highest number of votes for Libertarian Jo Jorgensen in the area, with almost 4.5 percent.
In Rockbridge County, 65 percent of voters chose Trump and 32.5 percent chose Biden.
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Senate
This pattern continues for the Senate race, with Lexington voting blue and Buena Vista and Rockbridge voting red.
About 67 percent of voters in Lexington chose Warner, with 32.5 percent picking his challenger, Republican Daniel Gade.
On the flip side, about 63 percent of voters chose Gade in both Rockbridge and Buena Vista.
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House of Representatives
Incumbent Republican Congressman and Lexington resident Ben Cline won reelection for the sixth district.
About 70 percent of voters in Rockbridge County picked Cline, with about 30 percent picking his challenger, Democrat Nicholas Betts.
In Buena Vista, Cline was even more popular, winning almost 75 percent of the votes.
But Lexington voted blue again, with Betts winning about 60 percent of votes in the city.
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Local Races
The Lexington City races were less contentious. Mayor Frank Friedman ran unopposed and got almost 93 percent of votes.
City Council also saw an uncontested election. Councilwomen Marylin Alexander and Leslie Straughan will keep their seats, and Charles Aligood will take the seat of Michele Hentz.
Alexander received the most support, with 1,498 votes.
In Buena Vista, Allen L. “Mac” Felts, Jr. will fill the empty seat on the school board. He defeated E.A.C. “Annie” LePere in a close race. Felts received about 50% of votes, with LePere trailing at 48 percent.
In another close race, Deborah B. Bowden and Stephen Bickley Sr. will fill the two empty seats on Goshen’s town council. Bowden received about 33 percent of the votes and Bickley received 32.5 percent. A third candidate, Robert L. “Bobby” Burke, picked up 31 percent of the votes.