Democrats plan to nominate either a teacher or a career law enforcement officer Saturday in the race to replace state Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham.
The 22nd State Senate District Democratic Nominating Committee plans to hold a caucus at 11 a.m. Saturday at Moton Museum in Farmville to choose between Katie Webb Cyphert, of Lynchburg, and Ryant L. Washington, of Palmyra. The deadline to register with the party passed at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The two candidates filed paperwork seeking the nomination just days after Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s call Tuesday for a Jan. 10 special election to replace Garrett and two other legislators heading to Congress after their Nov. 8 victories.
Hours later, on Tuesday, Virginia Democrats announced the nominating caucus would be Saturday.
Cyphert, a science teacher at Linkhorne Middle School, has been chairwoman of the Lynchburg Democratic Committee since 2014. Cyphert, 36, also leads a Girl Scout troop in Lynchburg. She filed her paperwork Thursday afternoon.
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Washington, special policy adviser to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, is a former Fluvanna County sheriff with ties to the Democratic governor. He announced his candidacy in a news release Thursday morning.
Any registered voter in Senate District 22 who identifies as a Democrat and is willing to pledge they only will support the nominee may participate in the caucus at no charge, according to nominating committee Chairman Jeffrey Rosner, who also is Lynchburg Democratic Committee treasurer.
“In a special election situation, it’s all about who shows up. The same can be said for the caucus Saturday,” Cyphert said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon. She plans to rally Lynchburg-area Democrats to support her.
Senate District 22 includes the eastern half of Lynchburg and all of Amherst and Appomattox counties. It stretches to Goochland County and leans heavily Republican.
Garrett won the seat with 58 percent of the vote in 2011. He faced no challenger in 2016. Garrett is resigning from the district after winning the 5th Congressional District seat. Anyone unsure of their state Senate district can visit the Department of Elections website.
Cyphert graduated from Lynchburg College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and special education in 2002. She worked for five years in insurance and financial services and has taught at Linkhorne since 2013.
“The issues that I see being of major concern, I think I can bring some expertise to the table,” Cyphert said, referring to health care issues such as the looming closure of Central Virginia Training Center. Dramatic changes to health care possible at the federal level after Republicans gained the presidency and retained control of both houses will require a response at the state level, she said.
“We also have representatives in Washington who now have the ability to, whether they’ll follow through or not, they do have the ability to dismantle some of these programs that are specifically there for individuals for whom there’s no private market,” Cyphert said.
Cyphert challenged Del. Kathy Byron, R-Bedford County, in 2013 for House of Delegates District 22. Byron retained the heavily Republican district by winning 66 percent of the vote.
Washington, a member of McAuliffe’s 2013 post-election transition team, was appointed to a newly created position of special policy adviser for law enforcement at the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in 2014. ABC encountered increased scrutiny when department agents arrested a University of Virginia student in 2013, mistaking her sparkling water for beer purchased underage, The (Charlottesville) Daily Progress reported.
Washington, who first worked in law enforcement in 1990 serving as a deputy sheriff and state trooper, won his first election to Fluvanna County sheriff in 1999, The Daily Progress reported. He ran as an independent in 2007 and 2011, according to the Department of Elections website.
“My career has afforded me the opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities and capabilities of state government, and I hope to be an advocate for the citizens of the 22nd District,” Washington said in the news release.
Washington did not return a request for a phone interview Thursday.
Two Republicans, Lynchburg attorney Mark Peake and Goochland County Supervisor Ken Peterson, a financial adviser, were running for the GOP nomination in the 22nd District long before Garrett won the congressional seat. The Republican committee plans to meet Saturday at Hampden-Sydney College. Only Republicans who pre-registered may vote at that meeting.
Joe C. Hines, of Rice, plans to run as an “independent conservative” for the seat, The Farmville Herald reported.