According to Tuesday’s unofficial general election results, former Sen. Kurt Vialet led the St. Croix Senate race as the highest vote-getter, securing 4,825 votes, with newcomer Clifford Joseph following at 3,771 votes. On St. Thomas-St. John, incumbent Sen. Milton Potter topped the list with 3,976 votes, closely followed by Sen. Alma Francis Heyliger with 3,872 votes.
On St. Croix, Senate President Novelle Francis, Jr. took the third position with 3,410 votes, followed by Sen. Kenneth Gittens with 3,354 votes; Sen. Franklin Johnson with 3,280 votes; newcomer Hubert Frederick with 3,201 votes; and Sen. Marise James rounding out the slate with 3,701 votes.
The third spot on St. Thomas-St. John went to incumbent Sen. Dwayne DeGraff with 3,606 votes, followed by Sen. Marvin Blyden with 3,429 votes; newcomer Avery Lewis with 3,349 votes; Sen. Carla Joseph with 3,338 votes; and Sen. Ray Fonseca with 2,257 votes.
In the St. John Senator-At-Large race, incumbent Sen. Angel Bolques reclaimed his seat with 7,237 votes, while challenger Lorelei Monsanto received 4,053 votes.
District seats were also contested on the Boards of Elections and Education. Mary “Peggy” Moorhead secured one of the two available spots on the Board of Education on St. Croix with 2,882 votes, while Emmanuella Perez followed with 2,680 votes. In St. Thomas-St. John, Kyza A. Callwood, with 3,419 votes, and Nandi Sékou, with 3,017 votes, retained their seats.
For the Board of Elections, Larence “Lary” Boschulte led St. Thomas-St. John with 2,934 votes, joined by Chaneel M. Callwood with 2,704 votes and Barbara A. LaRonde with 1,935 votes. On St. Croix, the four seats were filled by Liliana Belardo-Oneal with 2,809 votes, C. Jason JnBaptiste with 2,057 votes, Michael A. Joseph with 1,991 votes, and Cleopatra Peter with 1,717 votes.
Many voters also focused on the Constitutional Convention delegate race, which resulted in the following seat allocations:
St. Croix
- Usie Raymond Richards (2,950 votes)
- Devin F. Carrington (2,423 votes)
- Liliana Belardo-Oneal (2,325 votes)
- John J. Abramson Jr. (2,302 votes)
- Rupert W. Ross Jr. (2,160 votes)
- Ronald Russell (2,067 votes)
- John M. Canegata (1,763 votes)
At-Large
- Alicia Wells (4,790 votes)
St. Thomas-St. John
- Stedmann Hodge, Jr. (3,413 votes)
- Arturo Watlington, Jr. (2,721 votes)
- Rudel A. Hodge, Jr. (1,752 votes)
- David Silverman (1,431 votes)
Each district holds seven general delegate spots. With only four candidates named in St. Thomas-St. John, the remaining three positions will be selected from write-in candidates, according to Elections System officials.
On Tuesday night, Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes reported mixed turnout across the islands, noting vibrant activity at the polls for the legislative and board elections, with voter participation at about 50 percent.
“We were hoping for 60 percent, but in a non-gubernatorial year, that’s not bad,” Fawkes commented. She added that absentee ballots might increase the turnout slightly, as 333 ballots were mailed on St. Croix and 285 on St. Thomas-St. John.
Early voting turnout, while still in the thousands, was lower than anticipated, Fawkes noted. Absentee ballot counting will begin Wednesday at 2 p.m. in both districts, with ballots allowed until November 15 – ten days postelection.
