The 2023 Virginia elections are over, and a George Soros-backed prosecutor has been defeated. It’s one of a few silver linings in what turned out to be a widely disappointing night for Republicans. Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney Buta Biberaj didn’t concede on election night, which carried on for over a week.
The race was incredibly tight, but Republican Bob Anderson’s camp was adamant on election night that Biberaj had no viable path to retake the lead. She finally conceded today. Anderson is no stranger to the position, having served as commonwealth attorney in Loudoun County (via Washington Post):
Buta Biberaj, a Democrat who became the top prosecutor in Loudoun County in 2020 after pledging to reduce incarceration, lost her bid for a second term to Bob Anderson, a Republican who vowed to prosecute more crimes and previously held the office from 1996 to 2003.
After a week of counting votes in one of the closest races in Virginia this year, Loudoun election officials announced the final tally Tuesday: Anderson received 68,068 votes, exactly 300 more than the 67,768 votes Biberaj received. Biberaj called Anderson to concede early Wednesday and held a news conference later in the day, stating that she was proud to have been Loudoun County’s first female commonwealth’s attorney and that violent crime had fallen on her watch along with the average daily jail population.
“The work of building a fair and equitable justice system is ongoing, and I encourage every person to stay engaged,” Biberaj said in her concession statement.
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Under Virginia law, Biberaj had 10 days after the final vote tally to request a recount. Because Anderson had a margin of victory that was less than 0.5 percent of the votes cast, Loudoun County would have footed the bill. But Biberaj said she decided against a recount “to conserve taxpayer funds and expand the transition period.”
Anderson decided to run for his former job after the disastrous tenure of Biberaj who had a reputation for being soft on crime. It was still an uphill battle since Northern Virginia is as left-wing as it comes regarding political leanings. Blessedly, there were enough Democrats who had enough of the shenanigans in Biberaj’s office.