Virginia

Subramanyam wins Va. 10 primary with suburban appeal and South Asian support

Published

2 years ago

June 20, 2024

Subramanyam wins Va. 10 primary with suburban appeal and South Asian support

In his successful bid to win Virginia’s Democratic nomination for Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s (D) seat Tuesday, state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam (Loudoun) appeared in campaign ads goofing around with his two young daughters, wearing his gear as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, and taking a romantic stroll with his wife through a leafy suburban neighborhood.

Meanwhile, a D.C.-based organization dedicated to building Indian American political power in the United States was sending out its own pro-Subramanyam mailers to 90,000 likely voters in the 10th Congressional District, 22 percent of whom are South Asian, with hopes of seeing Virginia elect its first South Asian member of Congress.

The combination — an all-American dad and husband with massive behind-the-scenes support from one of the country’s fastest growing communities — helped Subramanyam beat his 11 opponents in a Democratic primary where most of the candidates were aligned on key issues such as gun control and women’s reproductive rights.

“It’s incredible for our community,” said Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact, the advocacy group that sent out the mailers. Its political action committee — Impact Fund — spent $600,000 to help Subramanyam become the Democratic nominee. Much of the $1 million raised by Subramanyam’s campaign also came from South Asian donors.

“We’ve seen over the last few years a real awakening within the South Asian American diaspora of the political power we can wield in our government,” Patel said, noting that since his organization was founded in 2016, the number of South Asians elected to office in the country has climbed from about 50 to more than 300, including Vice President Harris. “It’s part of this real trend we’ve been seeing.”

In November, Subramanyam will face tech company executive Mike Clancy, who easily won the Republican primary Tuesday and vowed to wage an aggressive campaign against the Democrat. But, given the district’s steadily changing demographics — including 65,000 residents of South Asian descent — the seat is considered to be safely Democratic, said Erin Covey, who analyzes House races for the Cook Political Report.

“It’s not a district where either party expects to invest lots of outside resources in because it’s just simply not seen as part of the House battleground,” Covey said. “You’d have to see significant environmental shifts for that to change.”

The region’s diversity was reflected in the diversity of the candidates themselves. Three others with South Asian heritage were in the race: Atif Qarni, who is Pakistani American and the state’s former secretary of education; ex-CIA officer Adrian Pokharel, who is Nepalese American; and Krystle Kaul, the owner of a defense technology company, whose family is Kashmiri Sikh.

Among the other candidates, Travis Nembhard and Marion Devoe Sr. are African American, Del. Michelle Lopes Maldonado (Prince William) is Cape Verdean, and Del. Dan Helmer (Fairfax) and former House speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (Fairfax) are Jewish American.

Subramanyam, 37, grew up in Texas after his parents emigrated from India. He previously worked in the Obama administration as a technology policy adviser and won his first election in Virginia — to the House of Delegates — in 2019.

For voters who picked him Tuesday, Subramanyam’s appeal lay in his understated demeanor and in a key endorsement from Wexton, who did not seek reelection due to health reasons.

Catherine Fernstrom, 42, said she saw in Subramanyam someone who better understands local concerns in the area and offers a good counter to the “extreme ideologies” in the Republican Party. “I want [Congress] to mitigate the damage that our extreme, court-appointed officials have done,” she said.

Tom Zaug, 75, echoed the all-American message he saw in Subramanyam’s ads. “He worked as a legislator, as a senator, and he was an EMT and firefighter — he was more of a man of the people in my book,” Zaug said.

Patel said that, if he’s elected in November, Subramanyam will join five other South Asians in Congress.

The expectation from Patel’s group and its financial backers is that any South Asian they help get into office will champion issues affecting their community and broader policy initiatives they care about such as abortion rights, dealing with climate change, improving access to health care and advocating for immigrants, he said.

“We’re hoping that as more and more of our community finds a voice, we can add a strong voice for these inclusive American values,” Patel said.

In an interview Wednesday, Subramanyam mentioned several of the same issues that would be his priorities if he is elected in the fall. But, he said, another major hope is to try to eliminate the ugly political rhetoric in Congress that he believes has led to government dysfunction.

“I’d like to fix the dysfunction,” he said. “I’d like to be part of the solution and a new generation of legislators who just put their community first and care less about how many Twitter likes they have.”

That was the message he delivered to voters at their doorstep as his campaign focused on winning voter-rich Loudoun County — where the 10th District is anchored — while winning enough support in the other counties to remain formidable, Subramanyam said.

The ads — one of which shows Subramanyam allowing his daughter to apply makeup to his face while he dons a tiny pink hat — and the support he received from South Asians are just reflections of who he is, he said.

“One of the reasons, I think, I’ve been successful in elections in this area is because I’m a lot of what the new demographics in this area embody,” Subramanyam said. “I’ve got a family, which takes up a lot of my time. I also have bills to pay, and we’re affected by rising costs.”

He’ll likely convey that again during his contest with Clancy.

For now, he said, he was going to spend some quality time with his family. On the agenda that day: blueberry picking in rural Middleburg, Va., then a night out with his wife, where they would try line dancing.

“It will be my first time,” Subramanyam said. “So, yeah, I’m nervous.”

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Virginia

LIVE Updates: Virginia Tech Hokies vs Miami Hurricanes Baseball, Game Two Score

Published

7 hours ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

LIVE Updates: Virginia Tech Hokies vs Miami Hurricanes Baseball, Game Two Score

Top of the 6th

Bottom of the 5th

Miami adds a run via sac fly and leads 7-1 heading to the 6th

Top of the 5th

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for VT. Miami leads 6-1 heading to the bottom of the 5th

Bottom of the 4th

A pair of one out singles put two runners on and after VT got the second out, Miami got the lead on an RBI single. The Hurricanes were not done either, with a 2-RBI triple made it 4-1 and then a two-run home run made it a five run lead for the Hurricanes. Miami got a double after that, but VT got the final out. Hurricanes lead 6-1 heading to the 5th

Top of the 4th

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for VT. Game is tied 1-1 heading to the bottom of the 4th

Bottom of the 3rd

A one out triple led to a sac fly from Miami that tied the game 1-1. Hokies got the final out, but no longer have the lead going to the 4th

Top of the 3rd

Cooke gets a two out double, but nothing else for the Hokies. VT leads 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 3rd

Bottom of the 2nd

Miami gets a one out single, but no runs. VT leads 1-0 heading to the 3rd

Top of the 2nd

A one out double from Daniel led to an RBI double from Gates to make it 1-0 in favor of the Hokies. They could not add on to it and VT leads 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 2nd

Bottom of the 1st

A leadoff triple and and two out walk put two on for Miami, but Virginia Tech keeps them off the board. Game is tied 0-0 heading to the 2nd

Top of the 1st

A single and two walks loaded the bases, but VT produced zero runs. Game is tied 0-0 heading to the bottom of the 1st

Pregame

Brett Renfrow is on the mound for the Hokies and here is how Virginia Tech is lining up for today’s game:

1. LF Nick Locurto

2. Ethan Ball – 2B

3. Sam Grube – RF

4. Henry Cooke – C

5. DH Hudson Lutterman

6. 3B Willie Hurt

7. SS Pete Daniel

8. CF Sam Gates

9. 1B Ethan Gates

After an embarrassing first game, Virginia Tech is hoping to bounce back and get the victory tonight against the Hurricanes. Miami was able to put up 19 runs on Virginia Tech last night in what ended up being as lopsided of a baseball game that you will ever see.

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Virginia

In rural Virginia, excitement and dread grows over Democrats’ redistricting referendum

Published

19 hours ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

In rural Virginia, excitement and dread grows over Democrats’ redistricting referendum

LOUISA, Va. — Michael Shull never imagined that a Democrat from the wealthy suburbs of Washington would represent his community in Congress. His corner of Virginia, with its sprawling farms and winding country roads, has been electing Republicans for more than three decades.

Then came an unusual nationwide redistricting battle, with Democrats and Republicans redrawing congressional lines to boost their chances in November’s midterm elections. Virginia could be next as voters consider a new map that would pair conservative rural areas with liberal suburbs, diluting Republicans’ electoral clout.

“Politicians should be elected to be their people’s voice,” said Shull, a Republican member of Augusta County’s board of supervisors. “Not their party’s voice.”

The vote on the constitutional amendment is on April 21, and early balloting has begun. If voters pass the referendum and it survives a court challenge, Shull’s area within the county would be split between the 7th and 9th Congressional Districts. While the 9th District would be the state’s lone Republican stronghold, the 7th District would resemble a lobster with the long tail beginning in Democrat-dominated Arlington and two claws reaching south into rural communities.

Congressional districts are usually redrawn once a decade, but President Donald Trump started a chain reaction last year by encouraging Texas Republicans to devise a new map to help the party in November. After a cascade of redistricting efforts, Republicans believe they can win a combined nine more U.S. House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, while Democrats think they can win a total of six more seats in California and Utah. Virginia could give Democrats an extra four seats — enough to overturn the GOP’s slim majority, at least as things stand now.

“It’s about making sure that we fight back to what Trump’s done,” said U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., He said the party needs to persuade voters that the referendum is “not about embracing gerrymandering.”

“I feel optimistic, but it’s close,” he said.

A print edition of the Goochland Gazette, with a front page story on the Virginia redistricting referendum, lies on a table at GG’s Pizza as members of the Goochland Democratic Committee Jen Strozier, Doug Mock, Chris Svoboda, Richard Grebe and Judi Sheppard hold a lunch meeting on future get-out-the-vote efforts, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Maiden, Va. Credit: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

A rural-urban divide

The referendum comes at a moment when Virginia Democrats have tried to make up ground in rural areas. Last year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger campaigned for governor in oyster towns and agrarian hamlets to engage with more conservative voters. Before that winning campaign, she had represented a congressional district that mixed city suburbs, exurbs and adjacent rural communities.

“Anyone who’s doing their job will be responsive to the communities that they seek to represent,” Spanberger said.

But her results were mixed. In counties where fewer people lived in rural areas, she outperformed Democrat Kamala Harris’ Virginia showing in the 2024 presidential race by an average of 6 percentage points or 7 percentage points. In more rural counties, Spanberger gained about 2 percentage points to 4 percentage points.

Democrat Anthony Flaccavento, former congressional candidate and co-founder of the nonprofit Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, is torn over the referendum.

Members of the Goochland Democratic Committee Jen Strozier, Doug Mock,... — Members of the Goochland Democratic Committee Jen Strozier, Doug Mock, Chris Svoboda, Richard Grebe and Judi Sheppard hold a lunch meeting on future get-out-the-vote efforts for the Virginia redistricting referendum, Thursday, April 2, 2026, at GG’s Pizza in Maiden, Va. Credit: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

“At some level, it feels like kicking the can down the road -– which is something that my party has done for a long time –- when it comes to winning back rural and working-class voters,” Flaccavento said.

A welcome change for some

Democrats in rural areas who are tired of being outnumbered by their Republican neighbors are embracing the redistricting plan.

“Fight Back, Vote Yes,” said a sign at a No Kings protest in Louisa County. A second said, “Vote Yes. Stop ICE. No Kings.”

State Del. Dan Helmer, who helped spearhead the redistricting effort, greeted protesters and spoke to the cheering crowd. Helmer is now one of at least four Democrats running in the 7th District.

Helmer said Republicans “think that in red areas like Louisa and in rural areas, that people don’t know what’s going on. But I’m looking around right now, I see strong, proud patriots who know exactly what is going on, who know that we have an aspiring dictator who is trying to take away our democracy.”

Jennifer Lee, who has lived in Louisa for 33 years, said she was eager to support the new district lines. Lee said she felt Republicans were perpetuating a double standard, falsely claiming the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden was stolen from Trump but accepting his push to eliminate Democratic seats through gerrymandering.

“That’s their slogan, right? ‘Stop the steal,’” Lee said. “But they started ‘the steal.’ They’re stealing the seats now in all these districts.”

Democrats see a fight for survival

At a town hall hosted by Democrats at a rural Goochland County recreation center, voters nibbled on finger foods and passed around bottled water as they debated whether redistricting violated some kind of moral code.

“I’m sorry, morality just goes out the door right now. We have to do what it takes for us to survive,” said Bruce Silverman, a local nephrologist. He was voting “yes.”

At one point, Roberta Thacker-Oliver stood up to talk. She votes in the rural 9th District, which would become even more Republican with the new map.

“In the redistricting, the 9th is going to become bigger and redder,” she said, adding, “I need to know what to tell my community about why they need to take one for the team.”

“What do we tell them?” she said.

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Virginia

#17 Irish Fall at #4 Virginia, 4-1

Published

1 day ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

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#17 Notre Dame (19-5, 8-3) – 1 | #4 Virginia (18-3, 10-1) – 4

DOUBLES – 3, 2
1. Dominko/Gregg (ND) vs. #5 Dahlberg/Dietrich (UVA), 2-4, 4-4, 5-4, 6-5, unfinished
2. Rice/Brockett (UVA) def. #47 Llorens Saracho/Nad (ND), 7-5
3. Santamarta/Kim (UVA) def. Lee/Patrick (ND), 6-0

SINGLES – 2, 4, 6
1. #2 Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. #15 Sebastian Dominko (ND), 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
2. #14 Keegan Rice (UVA) def. #72 Perry Gregg (ND), 6-3, 6-3
3. #40 Andres Santamarta Roig (UVA) vs. Giuseppe Cerasuolo (ND), 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
4. Peter Nad (ND) def. #102 Jangjun Kim (UVA), 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Kyran Magimay (ND) vs. Stiles Brockett (UVA), 6-1, 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
6. Douglas Yaffa (UVA) def. Luis Llorens Saracho (ND), 6-3, 0-6, 6-1

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