Snapshot of St. Thomas senatorial race winners (USVI 2022 General Election). Photo Credit: V.I. CONSORTIUM
Unofficial results from the Elections System of the Virgin Islands are indicating that the 35th Legislature will feature at least two new faces.
At the top of the rankings for the St. Croix District is Senator Kenneth Gittens, well in the lead with 5311 votes. Gittens is followed (in order of vote totals) by Senators Novelle Francis with 5079, Franklin Johnson with 4599 votes, and Samuel Carrion, who earned 4459. Marise James will be seated in the new crop of Senators, having received 4284 votes, the 5th highest number overall. Rounding up the list is Senator Javan James in 6th position with 4175 and Diane Capeheart in 7th with 3532. Senator Genevieve Whitaker garnered 3286 votes, ranking behind Nemmy Williams-Jackson who collected 3392 - leaving Ms. Whitaker out in the cold, well under the cutoff point.
On St. Thomas/St. John, the race was tighter, however current Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory was able to clinch the top vote-getter title with 5912 ballots cast in her favor. Following closely behind were Senators Milton Potter with 5638 votes, Marvin Blyden with 5162, and Dwayne DeGraff with 5066 votes. Senator Carla Joseph will return, having received 4854 votes, and so will Senator Alma Francis Heyliger - 4629 ballots were cast for her. Newcomer Ray Fonseca will round out the cohort from this district - he earned 3853 votes this cycle.
If the numbers hold up, Angel Bolques will continue to represent the territory as its at-large Senator in his first full term, having earned 8270 votes to edge out his competitor Sherry Ann Francis, who garnered 8206 votes.
Senators Kurt Vialet and Janelle Sarauw, who gave up their chance at re-election in a bid for the Governor & Lt. Governor’s seat, will now have neither position, as they were unsuccessful in their bid to beat incumbents Albert Bryan Jr. and Tregenza Roach for the top spot in the territory.
There are still hundreds of absentee ballots still to be counted, with a total of 416 issued on St. Croix (322 returned as of Tuesday), 570 issued in St. Thomas (376 returned as of Tuesday), and 55 issued in St. John (40 returned as of Tuesday). The Board of Elections will be meeting on Thursday, November 10 to begin counting the 2022 General Election absentee ballots.
