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Elena Hilton, RTV

Your Essential Rock the Vote Primary Election Recap

Virginia: Virginia’s 7^th district shook things up in a major way when voters decided to oust Eric Cantor, current House Majority leader, from Congress. It was a tremendous loss for Cantor and Republicans in the House. No acting House majority leader has lost a bid for reelection in the last century. Virginians were clearly ready for a change and it goes to show that voting is the most powerful way to alter the status quo.

 The Republican primary winner, Dr. David Brat, was funded by Tea Party supporters but only raised $200,000 compared to Cantor’s $5.5 million, proving that money can’t always guarantee votes. Brat will actually be running against his coworker, Democratic candidate Dr. Jack Trammell. Both men are professors at Randolph-Macon College. Brat teaches economics, while Trammell teaches sociology. Though Trammel has a higher rating than Brat on ratemyprofessors.com, it’s unclear who will receive the higher amount of votes for Congress in November.

South Carolina: Incumbent Lindsey Graham faced off against six challengers and won the primary with over 50% of the vote. Many South Carolina Republicans were looking for a more radical candidate, but Graham simply out-fundraised everyone by raising about $10.8 million. Democratic candidate and state senator Brad Hutto beat out Jay Stamper, who was hurt by the fact that he pleaded guilty to felony charges back in 2006 for illegally selling securities.

North Dakota: Some voters in North Dakota were turned away from the polls because they lacked an acceptable form of voter ID. Some residents of the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation were not allowed to vote because their tribal IDs weren’t accepted. All of North Dakota’s House Representative candidates ran unopposed within their own parties. Kevin Cramer is the Republican candidate and incumbent, George Sinner is the Democratic candidate and Jack Seaman is the Libertarian candidate.

Nevada- For the first time in about 35 years, “none of the above” was chosen by voters as the best option. None of the eight Democratic candidates running for governor were deemed acceptable to face off against the incumbent, Republican Brian Sandoval. Since “none of the above” isn’t a viable option for a candidate, the Democratic candidate will be the person with the second-highest number of votes, Robert Goodman.

Maine- It will be a war of ideologies and tactics come November. Winner of the Democratic primary, Emily Cain, said she wants to work with both parties in Washington and build compromises, while the Republican candidate Bruce Poliquin said he wants to fight for conservative interests and not give in to Washington negotiations. 

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