Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2019)
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Twelve seats on the Fairfax County Public Schools school board in Virginia were up for general election on November 5, 2019. The filing deadline for this election was June 11, 2019.
- Incumbent Karen Keys-Gamarra, Abrar Omeish, and Rachna Heizer were elected to the at-large district.
- Incumbent Megan McLaughlin was re-elected to the Braddock District.
- Elaine Tholen was elected to the Dranesville District.
- Melanie Meren was elected to the Hunter Mill District.
- Incumbent Tamara Derenak Kaufax was re-elected to the Lee District.
- Ricardy Anderson was elected to the Mason District.
- Incumbent Karen Corbett Sanders was re-elected to the Mount Vernon District.
- Karl Frisch was elected to the Providence District.
- Laura Cohen was elected to the Springfield District.
- Stella Pekarsky was elected to the Sully District.
Elections
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At-large District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Keys-Gamarra (Nonpartisan) | 22.2 | 179,258 | |
| ✔ | Abrar Omeish (Nonpartisan) | 20.0 | 161,258 | |
| ✔ | Rachna Heizer (Nonpartisan) | 19.4 | 156,397 | |
| Cheryl Buford (Nonpartisan) | 13.9 | 112,108 | ||
| Priscilla DeStefano (Nonpartisan) | 13.5 | 108,708 | ||
| Vinson Palathingal (Nonpartisan) | 10.8 | 86,751 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 2,457 | ||
| Total votes: 806,937 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ilryong Moon (Nonpartisan)
Braddock District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Braddock District
Incumbent Megan McLaughlin defeated Zia Tompkins in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Braddock District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Megan McLaughlin (Nonpartisan) | 67.8 | 23,004 | |
| Zia Tompkins (Nonpartisan) | 31.8 | 10,779 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 122 | ||
| Total votes: 33,905 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Dranesville District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Dranesville District
Elaine Tholen defeated Anastasia Karloutsos and Ardavan Mobasheri in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Dranesville District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Elaine Tholen (Nonpartisan) | 58.7 | 20,689 | |
| Anastasia Karloutsos (Nonpartisan) | 35.8 | 12,616 | ||
| Ardavan Mobasheri (Nonpartisan) | 5.3 | 1,876 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 82 | ||
| Total votes: 35,263 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Hunter Mill District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Hunter Mill District
Melanie Meren defeated Laura Drain in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Hunter Mill District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Melanie Meren (Nonpartisan) | 69.9 | 25,401 | |
| Laura Drain (Nonpartisan) | 29.8 | 10,830 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 127 | ||
| Total votes: 36,358 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Lee District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Lee District
Incumbent Tamara Derenak Kaufax won election in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Lee District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tamara Derenak Kaufax (Nonpartisan) | 95.7 | 22,465 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 4.3 | 1,008 | ||
| Total votes: 23,473 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Mason District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Mason District
Ricardy Anderson defeated Tom Pafford in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Mason District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Ricardy Anderson (Nonpartisan) | 76.7 | 17,597 | |
| Tom Pafford (Nonpartisan) | 21.4 | 4,921 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.9 | 432 | ||
| Total votes: 22,950 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Mount Vernon District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Mount Vernon District
Incumbent Karen Corbett Sanders defeated Steven Mosley and Pamela Ononiwu in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Mount Vernon District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Corbett Sanders (Nonpartisan) | 62.8 | 20,021 | |
| Steven Mosley (Nonpartisan) | 30.5 | 9,723 | ||
| Pamela Ononiwu (Nonpartisan) | 6.3 | 2,000 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 117 | ||
| Total votes: 31,861 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Providence District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Providence District
Karl Frisch defeated Andrea Bayer in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Providence District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karl Frisch (Nonpartisan) | 62.4 | 18,518 | |
| Andrea Bayer (Nonpartisan) | 37.1 | 11,004 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 144 | ||
| Total votes: 29,666 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jung Byun (Nonpartisan)
Springfield District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Springfield District
Laura Jane Cohen defeated incumbent Elizabeth Schultz and R.K. McDaniel in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Springfield District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Laura Jane Cohen (Nonpartisan) | 50.5 | 19,910 | |
| Elizabeth Schultz (Nonpartisan) | 41.9 | 16,517 | ||
| R.K. McDaniel (Nonpartisan) | 7.4 | 2,898 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 85 | ||
| Total votes: 39,410 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robert Walter (Nonpartisan)
Sully District
General election
General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Sully District
Stella Pekarsky defeated incumbent Thomas Wilson in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, Sully District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Stella Pekarsky (Nonpartisan) | 58.4 | 20,355 | |
| Thomas Wilson (Nonpartisan) | 41.3 | 14,383 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 87 | ||
| Total votes: 34,825 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at elections@ballotpedia.org.
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Virginia elections, 2019
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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About the district
- See also: Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
Fairfax County Public Schools is located in Virginia. The district served 187,467 students during the 2016-2017 school year.[1]
State profile
- See also: Virginia and Virginia elections, 2019
Partisan data
The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019
Presidential voting pattern
- Virginia voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2018 elections, both U.S. Senators from Virginia were Democrats.
- Virginia had seven Democratic and four Republican U.S. Representatives.
State executives
- Democrats held four of Virginia's 13 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
- Virginia's governor was Democrat Ralph Northam.
State legislature
- Republicans controlled the Virginia State Senate with a 21-19 majority.
- Republicans controlled the Virginia House of Delegates with a 51-49 majority.
Virginia Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
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| Governor | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | D |
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| Demographic data for Virginia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 8,367,587 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 39,490 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 69% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 19.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 8.6% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 88.3% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 36.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $65,015 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Virginia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Five of 133 Virginia counties—3.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Buckingham County, Virginia | 11.28% | 2.43% | 0.87% | ||||
| Caroline County, Virginia | 5.02% | 8.24% | 11.97% | ||||
| Essex County, Virginia | 2.14% | 7.30% | 10.35% | ||||
| Nelson County, Virginia | 5.59% | 2.72% | 9.15% | ||||
| Westmoreland County, Virginia | 7.14% | 6.95% | 10.24% | ||||
Note: Although it is highlighted in the map above, the city of Chesapeake is not considered a county and not included in our calculations as such.
In the 2016 presidential election, Virginia was a battleground state. Hillary Clinton (D) won Virginia with 49.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 44.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic 56.67 percent of the time and Republican 43.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic three times (2008, 2012, and 2016) and Republican two times (2000 and 2004).
See also
| Fairfax County Public Schools | Virginia | School Boards |
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Footnotes
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