Virginia primary election 2026: What to expect

We're now in the final two hours of voting in Virginia's primary election. Turnout is low tonight after the commonwealth decided to push back the election. Fox 5's chief legal correspondent Katie Barlow is in Arlington with what we're looking out for tonight. Katie? Well guys the only reason we're standing out here in the middle of the August heat right now when many Virginia families are either on vacation or trying to find some air conditioning is because Democrats moved election primary day from June to August as part of their bid to redistrict the commonwealth for their benefit. Now those efforts were blocked by a closely divided Virginia Supreme Court you'll recall back in May. So today we've only seen a handful of folks show up at the polling places here along Wilson Boulevard in Arlington. Even the poll workers say it's been quiet. I mean the main reason I'm with who I'm with is urbanism. I want an Arlington that's affordable, easily navigable, safe and actually produces enough money to take care of itself rather than being a constant drain on whoever will foot the bill whenever we need to repave our roads. Democratic incumbent Don Beyer is defending his seat in the eighth congressional district which includes Arlington and parts of Fairfax County. Beyer must fight off four Democratic challengers to keep his hope alive for a seventh term. Meantime Republicans only have one candidate on the ballot today, Tony Savio. Fairfax County says just over two percent of Democrats showed up to the polls today to vote in Beyer's race. Just over four percent of eighth congressional district voters voted by mail, an option that may be more restricted come November if the Supreme Court approves President Trump's proposed limitations on mail-in voting. Meantime less than one percent of Republican voters turned up at the polls today. Meantime Virginia's senior senator Democrat Mark Warner is running unopposed in the primary while three Republicans duke it out for the nomination. Dems hope to retake both the House and the Senate come November and believe Warner's seat is safe for now. They have a real shot a good shot at the second Virginia beach area because you have a Democratic former incumbent served four years who was defeated by the current Republican congresswoman who's also now served four years. They're pretty evenly matched and so I think that that one could switch. Again you have just under two hours to make it to the polls perhaps on your way home from work. We'll have the very latest on turnout numbers coming up at six.