By Taylor Boyd and Jessica Dillon
Republican candidates in state races outstripped their Democratic counterparts among Henry County voters, while Democratic candidates beat their Republican opponents among Martinsville voters.
In Henry County, Winsome Earle-Sears won 63.84 percent of the ballots cast in her favor compared to Abigail Spangerber’s 35.99 percent, according to https://ent.elections.virginia/gov/results.
In Martinsville, Earle-Sears won 36.34 percent of the vote while Spanberger won 63.51 percent of all ballots cast.
Spanberger was declared the winner in the state race, with 57.19 percent of all votes, according to unofficial results at 9:50 a.m.
John J. Reid won 65.59 percent of Henry County’s vote for Lieutenant Governor, compared to Ghazala F. Hashmi’s 34.15 percent. Hashmi won 61.18 percent of Martinsville’s vote while Reid won 38.64 percent.
Hashmi was declared the state winner with 55.28 percent of the ballot.
Jason S. Miyares won 66.64 percent of the county ballot in the Attorney General race, while Jay C. Jones won 33.14 percent of the vote. Miyares won 39.42 percent of Martinsville’s vote, while Jones won 60.45 percent of all ballots cast.
Jones was declared the winner of the statewide election, with 52.77 percent of the vote compared to Miyares’ 46.82 percent of the ballots cast.
Incumbent Wren Williams, R-Stuart, was declared the winner for the 47th House of Delegates seat. He won the district-wide race with 74.30 percent of all votes cast compared to challenger Yvonne Rorrer’s 25.33 percent. In Henry County, Williams won 74.53 percent of all votes while Rorrer won 25.34 percent.
Williams said he’s honored to earn the trust of his community once again.
“No matter what antics the Left brings to the next Legislative Session, I’ll keep holding the line for faith, family, and freedom, and I will never stop fighting for the people of Southside and Southwest Virginia,” Williams said.
Incumbent Eric J. Phillips, R-Martinsville, was declared the winner for the 48th House of Delegates seat. He won 61.98 percent of Henry County’s votes while Melody “Mel” Cartwright won 36.64 percent. In Martinsville, Phillips won 39.34 percent of all ballots cast while Cartwright received 59.05 percent of the votes.
Phillips was declared the winner in the race with 63.74 percent of the vote, while Cartwright received 34.51 percent.
Henry County
In the Blackberry District race for the Henry County Board of Supervisors, incumbent Jimmie “Jim” Adams received 60.86 percent of the vote compared to the 38.66 percent cast for Ray Reynolds.
Adams said he is humbled and honored to have received support from the community during this election cycle. “I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of all the citizens of Henry County in trying to make it a better place,” he said.
In the Collinsville District race, incumbent Joe Bryant lost to challenger Chris Lawless. Bryant received 36.86 percent of the vote, and Lawless received 62.87 percent of all ballots cast.
Lawless said he asked his supporters “to come out and show out in every way and every form, and they did it in a big way for me. I am happy with the outcome of yesterday to be able to show people that this community still cares about hard work and the fortitude to try to do better.”
Lawless said his victory also illustrates that anything is possible.
“Now, what’s exciting is who’s next. I hope we started that trend, I hope we get more younger people involved, and I’m going to take this job and I’m going to do good with it,” he said.
Lawless also thanked Bryant for his 16 years of service.
“When he took over, we were in a bad spot, and now we’re in a lot better spot than we were 16 years ago. I just want to see it better. I hope that if I need help in the future, he would be able to do that. I would be glad to have his knowledge and maybe be able to work together and just make this county better for everybody,” he said.
Incumbent Garrett Dillard, who was unopposed in his race for the Iriswood District seat on the Henry County Board of Supervisors, won his reelection bid with 97.59 percent of the vote.
In the race for the Blackberry District seat on the Henry County School Board, Sherry Vestal received 57.81 percent of the vote compared to Jonathan Martin’s 41.42 percent.
“I’m very proud of the election and my campaign friends and family, but I am also very appreciative of my opponent, who ran a very clean campaign with his honesty and integrity,” Vestal said.
Also unopposed in their respective bids for the Iriswood District and Collinsville District seats on the school board were Benjamin “Ben” Gravely, who received 98.22 percent of the vote, and Cherie Whitlow, who received 97.26 percent of all ballots cast.
Valeria Edwards also won in the special election for the Horsepasture District seat on the school board with 97.51 percent of the vote.
Martinsville
Patrick Flinn was declared the winner in the Commonwealth’s Attorney race. Flinn received 53.84 percent of the vote, while Lynda Hartsell received 45.85 percent.
“I would like to thank the people of Martinsville’s vote of confidence in me. I pledge that I will do my best to serve you as your next Commonwealth’s Attorney,” Flinn said. “Our best days are in front of us, and let us look forward to coming together as a community to tackle the challenges we are facing. Let’s get to work! Thank you again.”
Steve Draper, an incumbent who was unopposed in his race for Martinsville Sheriff, won 98.73 percent of the vote.
Sheila Clark received 69.77 percent of the vote in the Treasurer’s race compared to Kendall Davis, who received 29.99 percent.
In the Commissioner of Revenue race, incumbent Ruth Easley won her reelection bid with 58.65 percent of all ballots cast compared to the 41.22 percent garnered by Shasta Carmichael.
“We worked together as a team, we will continue to work together as a team,” Easley said of her working relationship with Clark. “Our goal is to serve the public the way they deserve, and we will continue to be there for them.”
The two agreed that they will continue working together for the city, adding, “The next step is working with this city administration to get this budget under control.”
