State Sen. Richard "Dick" Saslaw fought off two challengers in a squeaker Democratic primary Tuesday, winning his race with 48.86 percent of the vote.
"I’m extremely grateful for your support," Saslaw said. "Together we have accomplished so much and I’m excited to return to Richmond as your Leader!"
The Commonwealth's longest-serving lawmaker in the General Assembly saw a serious challenge from progressive Muslim candidate Yasmine Taeb, who trailed Saslaw by 500 votes after the votes were counted. Another challenger, Falls Church attorney Karen Torrent, ate up 852 votes in the primary.
Saslaw held onto his seat in the primary as the state senator representing the 35th District and Democratic leader in the state Senate. Saslaw, 79, has represented the district since 1980; before that, he served four years in the House of Delegates.
The 35th District includes parts of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax County.
The vote totals for Tuesday's Democratic primary across the district were:
- Saslaw: 7,380
- Yasmine Taeb: 6,871
- Karen Torrent: 852
The vote totals for Tuesday's Democratic primary in Alexandria were extremely close with Saslaw ahead by only 24 votes:
- Saslaw: 621
- Yasmine Taeb: 597
- Karen Torrent: 54
Saslaw saw his main support in Alexandria's five precincts from The Hermitage, a retirement community, where he received 140 votes to Taeb's 80 votes and Torrent's 13. It was the only one of the five precincts in Alexandria where he won the majority.
