Three-way contest: Analyst compares Va. Ninth primary to last one — eight years ago

WISE — As polls open in Southwest Virginia for the Ninth District congressional primary Tuesday, one area political scientist says the race is both a landmark for the district and different from a contest eight years earlier. Primary voters have three choices on the Ninth Democratic slate: Joy A. Powers, a cattle farmer and farm equipment business owner in Bedford County Adam Grayson Murphy, a software developer in Roanoke County Douglas E. Crockett, a retired United Methodist minister and retired attorney in Abingdon The winner faces eight-term Republican incumbent Congressman Morgan Griffith in November's general election "The last time we had a true primary on the Democratic side was 2018," said Heather Evans, a political science professor at UVA Wise. In 2018, Anthony Flaccavento defeated challenger Justin Santopietro for the party's nomination. Flaccavento gathered almost 10,800 votes in that two-way primary, while Tuesday will be a three-way contest between Crockett, Murphy and Powers. Evans said she has not seen many yard signs or any billboards for either of the Democratic candidates in far Southwest Virginia. Powers lives in Bedford County, Murphy in Roanoke County and Crockett in Abingdon. "When I have seen signs, they were in out-of-the-way places," Evans added. "I think this is going to be low turnout because I honestly think people don't know who they are, which is weird because there's three of them." "In my mind, if you're running for Congress," Evans said, "there's going to be a big push even in a primary situation and you're going to have signs all over the place." The winner in Tuesday's congressional primary also faces the challenge of a district that has ranked among the most conservative across the U.S. Evans pointed to the most recent Cook Partisan Voter Index, which gives the Ninth a conservative +22 rating. The Cook PVI rating means the Ninth's previous two presidential election results were 22 percentage points above the national average. It make the Ninth among the 14 most conservative congressional districts in the U.S., Evans said. During interviews and two public forums in Norton and Abingdon earlier this year, the candidates had commented on what they said was a lack of attention to the Ninth District race by state Democratic party officials. "That may be better for the party in a rational sense right now until a candidate is picked Tuesday," said Evans, "but the three candidates have a good point. They'll see more support after the primary, though." On the Republican side, three candidates are on the statewide primary ballot to oppose four-term Senator Mark Warner in November: Bert Mizusawa, a retired U.S. Army major general and federal executive Kim Farington, a retired federal executive David E. Williams, a Marine Corps Reserve officer, retired State Department diplomat and CIA officer Polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. statewide. Early voting ended Saturday, and in-person voting cannot be done at the Scott County Registrar's office. The office will be open to assist voters with other questions, and a list of county polling places is available on the county registrar's webpage: scottcountyva.gov/306/Voting-in-Person-on-Election-Day Elections results will be posted on the Virginia Department of Elections website starting after 7 p.m. For information on voting precincts and elections, contact the Scott County Registrar's office at (276) 386-3843. The county registrar's office is at 190 Beech St. Ste 204 Gate City.