When the dust settled and the votes were counted in the June 20 primary election, the winners of several hotly contested races emerged, some with huge margins.

In the House of Delegates 55th District, former Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer won nearly 70 percent of the vote, defeating ER nurse Kellan Squire after a series of attack flyers from the Laufer campaign questioned his progressive credentials on issues from abortion to gun control and voting rights.

“I knew that could have gone any direction, but I didn’t expect the margin to be as big as it was,” said City Councilor Michael Payne in an interview on Charlottesville Right Now. Payne, Mayor Lloyd Snook and Natalie Oschrin won the democratic nomination for city council, defeating Dashad Cooper and Bob Fenwick.

JMU political analyst Bob Roberts told Charlottesville Right Now he’ll be watching Laufer as she campaigns for the general election.

“It’s going to be interesting how she shifts her tone,” Roberts said. “She doesn’t want to mobilize the anti-abortion element of the district.”
The 54th District primary race was the least contentious as the candidates staked out different priorities. Albemarle County School Board Chair Katrina Callsen won with about 47 percent of the vote. Callsen spent more than $155,000 on the campaign, according to vpap.org, while Dave Norris spent $20,800 and Bellamy Brown spent $12,859.

 “We’d like to believe that, you know, can just organize on the ground and have a positive message. But unfortunately, we see money is still a huge part of politics,” Payne said.

The general election is Tuesday Nov. 7.

Listen to the full interview with Bob Roberts here.

Listen to the full interview with Michael Payne here.