Christie New Craig, chief of staff to Sen. John Cosgrove and a former Chesapeake School Board official, beat out Jeff Bruzzesi and Tim Anderson in Tuesday’s primary to secure the Republican ticket in the race to represent District 19 in the Virginia Senate.
“We had three great candidates,” New Craig said Tuesday night. “I think experience and leadership prevailed.”
New Craig added that she was humbled by people in the community who have supported her for decades.
In the Republican leaning district, New Craig will now face off against Democrat Myra Payne in November.
“I’m not going to stop working,” New Craig said of her campaign for the fall. “I’m not going to stop meeting with the voters and talking to people. I don’t take anything for granted.”
The Associated Press called the race for New Craig at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. New Craig had 4,565 votes, or 37.8%, compared to Anderson’s 3,937 and Bruzzesi’s 3,575 with 97% of the votes tallied.
District 19, which was recently reshaped due to once-a-decade redistricting, includes the southernmost parts of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. The area is currently represented by Cosgrove, who announced in March that he would not seek reelection because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
New Craig has worked for Cosgrove since 2002 when he was serving in the House. She also served on the Chesapeake School Board for about a decade.
Anderson, an attorney and gun shop owner, previously represented District 83 in the House of Delegates. He resigned in April and moved because redistricting placed him in the same boundary lines as Republican Del. Rob Bloxom.
Just after conceding to New Craig on Tuesday night, Anderson said he was proud of his campaign.
“I ran an entirely grassroots campaign,” he said. “I have absolutely no regrets from how we raised money and how we spent the money and what we did to try to convince the voters that I was the best choice.”
Next for Anderson is taking time off to spend with family, going to the beach and Busch Gardens.
Bruzzesi is a political newcomer and the owner of the Closet Factory in Virginia Beach. The business designs and builds custom closets and other personalized built-in organization systems.
Bruzzesi could not be reached for comments Tuesday night.
Cianna Morales, [email protected]
Katie King, [email protected].
