Susan Platt of Great Falls was unsuccessful in her run for lieutenant governor of Virginia on Tuesday, June 13.
“We came up short, but I am grateful to my supporters, particularly women, who stood with us every step of the way,” Platt tweeted from her Twitter account, @SusanPlattVA, on June 13.
Platt came in second place out of three candidates in Virginia’s June 2017 Democratic primary election, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections:
Justin Fairfax: 252,226 votes (49.22 percent)
Susan Platt: 200,605 votes (39 percent.)
Gene Rossi: 59,616 votes (11.63 percent)
Platt also came in second in Fairfax County, according to unofficial results from the Fairfax County Office of Elections:
Justin Fairfax: 42,236 votes
Susan Platt: 36,119 votes
Gene Rossi: 7,636 votes
She also came in second in the Dranesville District of Fairfax County, where her hometown of Great Falls is located:
Justin Fairfax: 4,644
Susan Platt: 4,286
Gene Rossi: 779
“I congratulate [Justin Fairfax] on his victory and look forward to working with him to make VA a better place to work, live and raise a family,” Platt tweeted on June 13.
In addition to Justin Fairfax as lieutenant governor on the Democratic ticket, Ralph Northam will be running for governor after winning his primary against Tom Perriello, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
AFTER LEARNING THE RESULTS the night of her loss, Platt also tweeted a call for Democrats to unite around the Democratic ticket.
“We must now unite as Democrats,” her tweet said. “We cannot allow the GOP to roll back rights for women and spread Trump’s hateful and dangerous agenda.”
Democrats Northam and Fairfax will be running against Edward Gillespie, Republican candidate for governor, and Jill Vogel, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, in the November general election.
Platt also tweeted about her hopes that one day a woman would sit at the helm of the state’s executive branch.
“There have been 40 [lieutenant governors] of VA: 6 Johns, 4 James, 2 Roberts, & 1 L. Douglas,” her tweet said. “I have no doubt that a Democratic woman will soon join that list.”
There were 365,782 votes cast for Republican primary candidates for governor and 354,766 votes for lieutenant governor.
This is compared to 542,815 votes cast for Democratic primary candidates for governor and 512,447 for lieutenant governor.