Note: My name is Donald Braden. This post was originally posted to The Full Slate Project blog.
A Democratic candidate is challenging for the District 19 seat for the first time since 2013. Republican Terry Austin currently holds this district. This seat has an interesting history. An Independent served in this post for many years until Austin won the seat in 2013 when the Independent did not run. In the last cycle, Austin only won 12,272 votes in an uncontested race.
THE ANNOUNCED DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE IS REAGAN FLAHERTY
DISTRICT 19 FAST FACTS
Residents = 80,010
Active Registered Voters = 50,205
Percent Registered = 63%
Total Vote in Last Race = 12,487
Participation Rate = 25%
Total Vote for Republican = 12,272
Total Vote for Democrat = 0
Total Vote Other = 215
Localities = Alleghany, Bedford and Botetourt County with Covington City
District 19 is made up of 44 precincts with 16 in Botetourt County, 12 in Alleghany County, 11 in Bedford County and 5 in Covington City. On its surface, this appears to be a very conservative district. In the last race challenged by a Democrat, the Republican vote jumped up to 16,000 votes. That said, there are some pretty clear areas to attack based on this public data alone.
Let's take a turn to some charts.