OCCOQUAN — This time, he won.
Corey Stewart walked into the Electric Palm Restaurant in Occoquan at 9:19 p.m. Tuesday to a sea of chanting fans.
“Corey! Corey! Corey!” they belted.
With his wife Maria and two children behind him, Stewart took the podium.
“Folks, it’s a lot better to win by 1.4 [percent] than lose by 1.2,” said Stewart.
The latter figure is the percentage point he lost by in his race against Ed Gillespie during a Republican Primary Election one year ago in Virginia’s Governor’s race. Then, at a nearby restaurant on the Occoquan River, he accepted defeat. He returned to that same waterfront Tuesday night to, this time, only to celebrate his Primary Election victory over fellow Republicans Nick Freitas and E.W Jackson.
Stewart bested his opponents by about two points and 33 points, respectively.
Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, will now face incumbent Senator Tim Kaine (D) this fall in a bid for an open U.S. Senate seat.
After an impressive showing in Northern Virginia, winning his home turf of Prince William County, and neighboring jurisdictions Fairfax, Loudoun, and Stafford, Stewart assured supporters he would continue to side with President Trump if elected to the Senate, work to abolish Obamacare, champion economic development in the state, and continue his fight against illegal street gangs like MS-13.
“They are animals,” said Stewart. “We’re going to arrest them, deport them, and then we’re going to build the wall so they can’t return.”
Stewart campaigned heavily to Republicans in the democratic populous Fairfax County.
“They came out to vote for me because they know me,” said Stewart.
The Republican said a vote for his now rival Tim Kaine would be a vote to “live in the past,” taking the state back to failed Obama-era policies. Trump, he said, has ushered in a new era of prosperity for Virginia and the nation.
It wasn’t all good numbers for Stewart. He lost Virginia Beach, the state’s third-largest jurisdiction, to Freitas by more than eight points. In the end, Stewart thanked both his opponents.
“I want to compliment Freitas. He’s not going anywhere. He’s got a bright future in this state, and in this party,” said Stewart.
Stewart will now split his time between the campaign trail and his duties as chief of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. It’s something he’s become accustomed to after seeking the Republican nominee for governor last year, this year’s Primary Election, and serving as Trump’s Virginia campaign chairman in the 2016 Presidential Election.
He praised his staff at the county government center for helping him stay on track.
“At least it’s not [county] budget season,” said Stewart.
He’ll go on to face Kaine in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6.
Steven Hollis, of Fairfax Station, is one of those Fairfax County Republicans that helped Stewart to victory on Tuesday. Stewart stands with Trump on every issue, supports building the wall, and cherishes conservative values, he said.
“I feel like we’re getting our country back,” said Hollis.
Other Stewart supporters, like Thaddeus Alexander, a small business owner from Staunton, and a longtime Stewart supporter who stood with him last year in Charlottesville during protests to remove Confederate statues from the city, also spoke.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, gay, or hispanic, you’re an American first,” said Alexander.
