RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Lashrecse Aird has defeated state Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) in the Democratic primary for the Virginia Senate’s 13th District.
Morrissey – who did not respond to calls and text messages from 8News — conceded while election results were still being counted Tuesday night. Election results in Virginia are not finalized until certified by the State Board of Elections.
With the win in the blue-leaning state Senate district, former Del. Aird appears poised to return to the Virginia General Assembly after losing her House of Delegates seat in 2021.
Aird will face off against Republican Eric Ditri in the Nov. 7 general election in a district that includes the city of Petersburg, Henrico and other counties in the Richmond suburbs.
Aird received backing from several Virginia Democrats, including many women in the legislature who endorsed her over their colleague. The state Senate’s Democratic Women’s Caucus released a statement calling out Morrissey’s “divisive and destructive actions” and rebuking his abortion stance.
In a statement after her victory, Aird thanked her parents, campaign staff, volunteers and the community for backing her bid.
“Thank you to my future colleagues in the state Senate for speaking out and standing up for what’s right,” Aird said. “Most of all, I want to thank everyone here for your refusal to accept the status quo. Thank you for believing in better, and for being willing to fight for it day in and day out these past few months.”
In 2015, at age 28, Aird became the youngest woman ever elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Her bid for a fourth term came up short when she lost to Republican Kim Taylor in a narrow race in 2021.
In her time in the Virginia House, Aird sponsored legislation to declare racism a public health crisis — making Virginia the first Southern state to do so — and declare water access as a human right.
One of her key bills banned police from executing no-knock warrants in Virginia. “Breonna’s Law,” named after Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical technician who was fatally shot by police in Louisville, Ky., after they obtained such a warrant.
All 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot in November, meaning that control of the state legislature is up for grabs in the general election.
Republicans control the House of Delegates and Democrats control the state Senate, but their majorities are slim. The divided government has kept some of the big-ticket legislative proposals from Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the parties from moving forward.
Senate Democrats have blocked Youngkin’s top agenda items, including his push to restrict abortion in Virginia, and key cabinet and board appointments.
House Republicans have prevented Democrats from passing additional gun restrictions but have had their efforts to roll back voting laws squashed by Democrats.
Aird said Tuesday she will be a “firewall” for reproductive rights, push for public school and road repair funding, and fight for affordable health care and child care access if elected to the state Senate.
“This is the power of electing responsible leadership. Thank you for putting your faith in me,” she said. “I promise you this is just the beginning.”
