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Democrat Garrett McGuire won a special election for Virginia’s House of Delegates on Tuesday, securing the District 17 seat with more than 78.6% of the vote as of 8:25 p.m.
The race was called within minutes of polls closing. McGuire defeated Republican Christopher Cardiff and will replace Del. Mark Sickles, a Democrat who is leaving the General Assembly to become secretary of finance in Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.
The contest was one of several prompted by Spanberger’s appointments of sitting lawmakers to her cabinet. After Sickles’ appointment, both parties had about a week to choose their nominees.
McGuire won the Democratic nomination in a firehouse primary last month. He has worked as a legislative assistant in the House of Delegates and served with several local nonprofit organizations. Sickles, who spent more than 20 years in the General Assembly, endorsed him.
Cardiff was selected as the Republican nominee. He previously served as chief operating officer of a data analytics company focused on political campaigns.
Tuesday’s vote marked Fairfax County’s second special election of the month. Earlier in January, District 11 voters elected Democrat Gretchen Bulova to succeed her husband, Del. David Bulova.
That same day, Democrat Margaret Franklin won the District 23 special election. The district includes portions of Prince William and Stafford counties.