Last weekend, in the waning hours of the campaign, Gary West spent time knocking on doors along Wreck Shoal Drive in Newport News. Some homes on the street near City Center were lined with campaign signs, but one seemed out of place. In the front lawn of the home, a sign read "BaCote for Delegate."
West said he wrote the residents a note thanking them for supporting the party, mentioning that he would be the Democratic candidate for the district's seat.
"The homeowner may have been friends with her," West said, referring to Del. Mayme BaCote, D-Newport News, who was re-elected to the 95th District seat on Tuesday.
West was unsuccessful in his bid for the 94th District House of Delegates seat, losing to Republican David Yancey.
State and local party officials for Democrats and Republicans said that the 2011 redistricting process may have left some candidates confused about whom they would represent.
"I’m not sure all of the candidates had come to a full appreciation for redistricting of where the lines moved," said Chuck Young, chairman of the Newport News Republican City Committee. Young spent Election Day at Palmer Elementary School in Newport News handing out campaign literature. The precinct includes residents of the 93rd, 94th and 95th districts.
"There were voters who were coming to the polls who weren’t really sure who the candidates they were going to vote for were. I suspect there were candidates who didn’t know for sure," Young said.
David Rexrode, executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, said that because the redistricting process lasted late into the spring, many candidates didn't have enough time to get fully acquainted with their districts.
"It put a time crunch on elections and candidates to get everything finalized," Rexrode said.
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