Frederick, Munoz Race was Tight in Mount Vernon Area

Tuesday’s primary elections saw a fight for the 36th District Republican nomination that was neck-and-neck within Fairfax County.

As of last night, candidate Tito Munoz, who lost the overall election, won in Fairfax County with 50.16 percent of votes; Jeff Frederick had 49.84 percent.  As absentee and provisional ballots rolled in today, the race got even closer – the two were exactly tied at about 4 p.m. Wednesday with 763 votes each.

The race was really decided in Prince William and Stafford counties, where Frederick won the majority of votes. In Prince William County, Frederick won with 76.80 percent of votes. In Stafford County, Frederick had 71.5 percent.

Why did Frederick succeed in Prince William and Stafford Counties? It’s all about gubernatorial election trends, said Susan Falconer of the Fairfax County Republican Committee.

“A general rule of thumb is to see how the governor does in precincts. When you look at a map, this rule applies to Prince William and Stafford counties,” Falconer said. 

Falconer explains: “If you look at the maps precinct by precinct, [Fairfax County] is the side of the map he [Frederick] has to do really well in to win” this November.

Although southern Fairfax County may be populated with more Democrats than other parts of the 36th District, Frederick doesn’t plan on changing his canvassing plans, his campaign spokesperson said.

“We’re happy Jeff did well. Now we’re looking to the November election against Senator Toddy Puller,” said Mick Bransfield, spokesperson for Frederick. “Jeff’s always relied very heavily on grassroots campaigning, being out in the community and we will continue to do so.”

 Anthony Bedell, Fairfax County Republican Committee chairman, said: "The election results show Jeff Frederick ran strong across the entire district to win the primary election. Fairfax is proud to provide full operational support now that he is officially our GOP nominee."