Tran wins 42nd district race; Route 1 area votes overwhelmingly for Northam

Kathy Tran won the race for the 42nd House district, which covers a portion of the Mount Vernon area and Fort Belvoir. (Image from kathyfordelegate.com)

Democrat Kathy Tran defeated Republican Lolita Mancheno-Smoak in the race for the open seat in the 42nd District of the Virginia House of Delegates. Tran’s win makes her the first Asian American woman elected to the Virginia House.

Tran finished with 61 percent of the vote, Mancheno-Smoak with 39 percent. They were running for the seat long held by Republican Del. Dave Ablo, who is retiring at the end of his term. Albo had held the seat since 1994.

The 42nd district mostly covers the Springfield and Lorton areas, but also includes Fort Belvoir and the Westgate precinct in the Mount Vernon area. Mancheno-Smoak got 93 more votes than Tran in Westgate, which is home to Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie. 

The 42nd House District. Click to enlarge.

Tran’s win was part of a wave of Democratic victories in Virginia, including Ralph Northam’s win over Gillespie for governor and wins in the lieutenant governor and attorney general races. Democrats also picked up at least 14 seats in the Virginia House, with more still possible in close races that have not yet been called.

Northam, who beat Gillespie statewide by a margin of 8 percent, won an overwhelming majority of Richmond Highway-area districts, with only the Westgate precinct going to Gillespie. Northam won 67 percent of the vote overall in Fairfax County.

Tran’s victory also solidified state-level Democratic Party representation of the entire Richmond Highway area. The three other House districts that cover parts of Route 1 area — the 43rd, 44th and 45th — stayed in Democratic hands on Tuesday, with all three incumbents running unopposed:

• Del. Paul Krizek, a Hollin Hills resident whose 44th district covers most of the east side of Richmond Highway as well as large parts of the west side, was elected to his second term in the House.
• Del. Mark Sickles, a Huntington-area resident whose 43rd district includes some of the west side of Richmond Highway and the Franconia area, was elected to his 8th term in the House. 
• Del. Mark Levine, whose 44th district includes a sliver of the Route 1 area in the Huntington and Belle Haven areas, was elected to this second term in the House.  

Here are the unofficial voting totals for Lee District and Mount Vernon District for the governor and lieutenant governor races:

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge