NORFOLK, Va. — Democratic candidate Jackie Glass is projected to defeat Republican candidate Giovanni Dolmo for the 89th District seat in the House of Delegates, unofficial results show.
Glass will succeed former Delegate Jay Jones, who stepped down as of December 31 to focus more on his growing family. In a statement to 13News Now, Dolmo conceded the race, saying "may the Lord bless her" as the delegate for the 89th District.
"This was a great experience and I pray that Ms. Glass flourishes in her new position," Dolmo told 13News Now.
As of 7:50 p.m., Glass was leading Dolmo 75% to 24.6%. Glass has 3,956 votes, while Dolmo has 1,300 votes. 23 out of 24 precincts were reporting, according to unofficial results.
The 89th District encompasses much of the southern part of Norfolk. Some voters turned out to the polling locations, excited to vote during a special election after voting in November's general election.
Those who showed up said they were disappointed there wasn't a bigger turnout than what you typically see in a special election.
"I would think everyone would want to get this seat filled... not just getting it filled, but I would like to see more people involved in getting it filled," said Buzzer Hefty who cast his ballot Tuesday morning.
Both candidates said they understood the challenges of getting a big turnout during a special election, but they wanted to focus on getting their final messages and promises out to the public.
Glass and Dolmo went to the polling locations to meet with volunteers and voters to talk about the latest concerns and answer any questions. They both say they want the people to know they are ready to take on the delegate seat.
"I want people to know me by my action, not my words," said Dolmo.
"I'm ready for the opportunity to educate, advocate, and to celebrate the great things going on here in the 89th," said Glass.
Glass is a small business owner and Navy veteran. She said she plans to focus on women and family concerns, including better funding for childcare and paid family medical leave. She said she also wants to improve infrastructure and address flooding concerns in Norfolk.
"We have an opportunity to bring a lot of money here for flooding and knowing the sites and projects that we can get funded immediately to relieve some of the stresses here in our locality," said Glass. "I know there are specific projects infrastructure-wise if Build Back Better gets approved, that we can really work with advocators and legislators to bring that back down."
Dolmo is also a Navy veteran and a local pastor. He said he wants to help the economy by pushing for grocery tax elimination and freezing gas prices. He said another big issue he wants to tackle is crime in neighborhoods.
"Definitely funding the police and education reform, because I'm actually tutoring these kids and they're doing horrible," said Dolmo. "With crimes, I've seen dead bodies in my neighborhood and I want that to change. Children in our neighborhood shouldn't be seeing violence like that."
Polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Any mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Jan. 11 and received by noon on Friday, Jan. 14 in order to be counted.
Norfolk's Office of Election officials told 13News Now they planned to have the unofficial election results Tuesday evening.
Director of Elections and Registrar, Stephanie Iles, said the election will not be certified until after the completion of canvass and provisional ballots.
"As voters who may cast a Provisional ID ballot have until 12 p.m. on Friday, January 14 to furnish valid identification and we must also tabulate absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received up until 12 p.m. Friday, we will not be able to certify until Friday afternoon at the earliest."
The Virginia State Board of Elections will also have to certify the election results. They meet next Tuesday, January 18.
The 89th District seat opened up when former Delegate Jay Jones announced his resignation, which took effect with the new year.
Jones won reelection for the position but said he and his wife are expecting their first baby, and he decided to resign to focus on his newly growing family.
On social media, both candidates urged people to get out to the polls on Tuesday.