Luther Cifers, a businessman from Prince Edward County, won the Republican nomination in Virginia’s Senate District 10 at a mass meeting in Goochland County early Saturday morning. (Courtesy of Luther Cifers campaign).
Luther Cifers, a businessman from Prince Edward County, emerged victorious in the Republican nomination contest for Virginia’s 10th Senate District during a mass meeting at the Goochland Rec Center.
The meeting, which drew hundreds of Republican voters, began Friday evening and stretched into the early hours of Saturday as participants navigated a lengthy multi-ballot process to select a nominee from a crowded field of seven candidates.
Cifers secured the majority needed to clinch the nomination, defeating a mix of seasoned politicians and newcomers in three rounds of voting.
Cifers will now face Democrat Jack Trammel in the Jan. 7 special election to fill the vacancy left by Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, who resigned after his recent election to Congress. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of McGuire’s term, which runs until 2027.
Other contenders included runner-up Duane Adams, the chairman of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors who previously ran for the Republican nomination in the district in 2023 but was defeated by McGuire, and Amanda Chase, a former state senator from Chesterfield County who served in the Virginia Senate for eight years.
There were four other bids for the seat by Shayne Snavely, a veteran and former Chase aide, Jean Gannon, a Powhatan County real estate appraiser, Alex Cheatham, a recent college graduate, and Bryan Hamlet.
“Luther emerged from a field of seven outstanding candidates who sought the nomination. The Republican Party of Virginia and I look forward to marching in lockstep with Luther and his team over the next three weeks in ensuring that he is victorious on January 7th and takes the oath of office on January 8th,” said Rich Anderson, the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.
Given the district’s strong Republican lean — with 62.8% of voters supporting former President Donald Trump and 67.8% backing Gov. Glenn Youngkin — Cifers is seen as the favorite in the upcoming election.
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