Residents of Virginia’s 9th Senate District anchored in Richmond and eastern Henrico County will head to the polls Tuesday to vote for their new state senator. The election follows now-Rep. Jennifer McClellan’s election to Congress in February.
Republican Stephen Imholt — a former government consultant who co-chaired the finance committee for the school board in Rockford, Illinois — and Democratic Del. Lamont Bagby are running. Bagby has been a member of the House of Delegates since he was elected in a 2015 special election. Imholt lost an election for the state House as an independent against McClellan in 2015.
Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
Voters are asked to bring an approved form of identification to their assigned polling place — which can be checked online — but may also sign a statement confirming their identity in order to vote. If a voter does not bring ID and is unwilling to sign such a statement, they may also cast a provisional ballot.
Anyone who is qualified to register to vote may do so Tuesday at their assigned polling place. Those who utilize same-day voter registration will cast provisional ballots.
Bagby is considered to be a heavy favorite in the Democratic-leaning district. McClellan most recently won reelection in 2019 over Libertarian Party candidate Mark Lewis by about 60% of the vote.
The person elected will serve out the remainder of McClellan’s term, which ends in January. Virginia's 9th Senate District for this election includes all of Charles City County, parts of Richmond City and portions of Henrico and Hanover counties.
A general election will be held using redrawn boundaries — that include more of Richmond — in November, along with all 139 other seats in the General Assembly.
