Republican Wayne Coleman will ask for a recount by Thursday in the close election to represent Virginia’s 6th Senate District. “We will file a petition on or before Thursday,” Coleman’s campaign manager, Austin Chambers, said today. Democrat Lynwood Lewis, a longtime Eastern Shore state delegate, was certified the winner Friday after a Jan. 7 special election. He beat Coleman, a Norfolk businessman, by nine votes out of roughly 20,400 cast. Even before Lewis’ win was made official, Coleman’s campaign had said it planned to seek a recount, but it hadn’t said when. Asked if the candidate is taking his time in filing with control of the split Virginia Senate at stake, Chambers said Coleman’s petition will be submitted “when we feel comfortable that we have everything we need to file.”
Coleman has 10 days from the date Lewis was certified the winner to request a recount. The petition must be filed in Lewis’ home county of Accomack.
However, Chambers said he thinks a three-judge panel that will supervise the recount process could sit anywhere in the judicial circuit that includes Accomack, Northampton and Virginia Beach.
Chambers declined comment when asked if the campaign believes any irregularities occurred in the election, or if the candidate would ask the General Assembly to intervene if the recount doesn’t turn in his favor.
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