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Overview and Deadlines
The 2022 Virginia midterm election will be held on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. Offices on the ballot this November are congressional races across all 11 Virginia congressional districts, and local elections (depending on your locality). Read below to learn about the responsibilities of these positions and visit the links for candidates in each race in the city of Harrisonburg.
Check your voter registration and voting location before you vote or request a mail-in ballot!
Last day of in-person early voting at local voter registration office: Saturday, November 5th, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
Deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you: Friday, October 28th 2022.
Congress
Every two years, each congressional district in America votes for their respective member of Congress. This includes Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses all of the city of Harrisonburg, which includes all of JMU.
This midterm election, there are two candidates running for this seat: Ben Cline, the Republican, and Jennifer Lewis, the Democrat. Cline, the incumbent, has served as the Congressman for the 6th Congressional district since 2018 after the retirement of former Congressman Bob Goodlatte. Lewis, the Democrat, is the challenger to Congressman Cline. Lewis previously ran for this seat against then-candidate Cline in 2018. She is running again in an attempt to unseat her former opponent this midterm season.
On October 25th, the Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum with Rep Ben Cline and Jennifer Lewis along with candidates in Lexington’s city council race. A recording of the livestream from that event is available on the Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. The topics of the questions presented to the Congressional candidates and the approximate starting time for each topic on the video are: introductions (11:02), rural broadband (25:20), mental health (39:40), cost of education (1:07:35) and Medicare (1:21:18).
Harrisonburg City Council
The City of Harrisonburg, diverse in itself, brings unique sets of views to its city council, as the voters determine in their election. This year, there are two seats open for a full term on the council - which is a four year term - and a special election for a seat to fill a vacant term.
This year, the general election will be composed of two Democrats and two Independents. Marshall Orenic and Rick Nagel are the two Independent candidates, while Monica Robinson and Dany Fleming will serve as the Democrats running for these seats. These candidates are not running together, however voters will have the choice to choose two of these four candidates on their ballot this year.
Voters will have the opportunity to vote in a special election on the ballot as well. Former city councilman, George Hirschmann, stepped down from his seat on the council on May 26th, 2022. To finish out Hirschmann’s term, this special election has been called and consists of one candidate: Christopher Jones, a Democrat. Jones, a current Democratic member of the city council, lost his primary in the Harrisonburg Democratic Caucus in 2022. This has resulted in him running for this special election to keep a seat on the city council. There is no challenger to Jones.
School Board
As the democratic process unfolds, the election for education in the City of Harrisonburg happens. The school board, composed of six members, makes critical educational decisions for children who attend schools within the city: six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school.
Unlike other elections this year, the election for school board is non-partisan. Meaning, all that are running are considered Independent candidates.
This year, there are three seats that are open for this election. The three incumbents with terms expiring this election - Obie Hill, Andrew Kohen, and Kristen Loflin - are all running again to serve another term on the school board. However, two challengers, Corin Jackson and Emma Phillips, are running for these seats as well. Voters will have the opportunity to choose from three of the five candidates on their ballot this year.
