Voters in Mathews County will join with others throughout Virginia’s 6th Senate District on Tuesday to elect a successor to Ralph Northam. Northam is vacating his state senate seat on Monday to become Virginia’s new lieutenant governor.

Candidates are Republican Wayne Coleman, 64, a first-time candidate and businessman who lives in Norfolk, and Democrat Lynwood A. Lewis Jr., 52, of Accomac, a lawyer who currently serves as the 100th district delegate in the Virginia General Assembly.

The 6th Senate District includes the Eastern Shore counties of Accomack and Northampton, parts of the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, as well as Mathews. Norfolk makes up the lion’s share of the population in the district, at 58 percent. Mathews represents approximately 7 percent of the district’s population. Gloucester County is part of Virginia’s 3rd Senatorial District, represented by Sen. Tommy K. Norment Jr. (R-James City County).

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