While his Democratic senate colleagues easily won their primaries on Tuesday, June 11, Sen. Dick Saslaw (D-35), the Senate minority leader, had a tougher time of it.
Incumbent Barbara Favola handily defeated Nicole Merline to retain her position as the nominee for State Senator for the 31st District.
Jennifer Boysko did the same with her challenger M. Sharafat Hussain for Senate District 33.
Saslaw, in the first challenge he has faced in decades, held off human rights lawyer Yasmine Taeb by only 362 votes. Taeb is the first Muslim woman to be elected to the Democratic National Committee. A third candidate in that race, Karen Elena Torrent, received 697 votes.
At the victory party, Saslaw admitted that things got a “little closer than I thought it was going to be.”
Democratic Primary
Member Senate of Virginia (035)
Richard L. "Dick" Saslaw: 5,605 votes, 48.55%
Yasmine P. Taeb: 5,243 votes, 45.41%
Karen Elena Torrent: 697 votes, 6.04%