Gretchen Bulova wins the Democrats’ firehouse primary for the House of Delegates

*Gretchen Bulova at the polls on voting day. [Facebook]*

Gretchen Bulova handily won a Democratic primary Dec. 16 for the 11th District in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Gretchen is the wife of former Del. David Bulova, who resigned after he was appointed by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger as Virginia’s Secretary of Natural Resources. Former Fairfax County Board Chair Sharon Bulova is her mother-in-law.

A special election for the House of Delegates’ 11th District will be held on Jan. 13. The 11th District comprises the City of Fairfax and parts of Fairfax County, including Fair Oaks and Oakton. A Republican candidate hasn’t been announced yet.

Gretchen Bulova easily beat four other candidates in the firehouse primary (also known as an unofficial caucus) hosted by the 11th House of Delegates District Committee.

According to unofficial results, Bulova got 47.73 percent of the votes cast. So Lim got 17.59 percent, Vanessa Cardenas got 14.58 percent, Douglas Shuster got 12.37 percent, and Denver Supinger got 7.32 percent. A total of 1,188 votes were cast at three locations.

Bulova is the director of the Office of Historic Alexandria, where she oversees eight museums and the City of Alexandria’s archaeology and archives programs. She is a member of the VA250 Commission, which oversees the state’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and chairs the Fairfax250 Commission.

She also chairs the Fairfax County History Commission and is the former president of the Virginia Association of Museums.

As a longtime Democratic activist in Fairfax County, Bulova secured endorsements from 34 county and state leaders.