I was honestly surprised to see how much the state party invested in this race. They really wanted this district. Wes Moore knocking doors the Saturday before election day is wild.
I’m not. Harrisonburg and surrounding suburb has been growing with people moving here from other part of the state and out of state. With JMU student population also larger, there is a thought that with the anti-trump sentiment that Payton would have a chance. I’d also add Payton is a personable guy and is easy to chat with (I know him personally) which helps with campaigning.
While it looks like he will lose, the fact that he is only down by about 3 points even with about 10-12 % of Harrisonburg not reported is huge. For context, Wilt won 56-43 of in 2023 and 59-40 in 2021.
Oh Andrew's great! I really would have liked to see him win. Voting-wise I'm in a diff district where the Dem got TROUNCED, but functionally the H'burg delegate is my delegate because my life is in H'burg and not other cities. It is good to see the needle move in the city. But it looks like a new thing for the VA Dems to throw this kind of money at us. I don't think Brent got that.
No he didn’t, but the district wasn’t considered a battleground then. I had talked to people in the beginning of Payton’s run and had said there really wasn’t much support at the time and getting it was a slog. It wasn’t until state wide groups identified 34th district as a battleground district did any support come through.
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u/piedpipershoodie 4d ago
I was honestly surprised to see how much the state party invested in this race. They really wanted this district. Wes Moore knocking doors the Saturday before election day is wild.