Garrett upsets Valentine in House 23rd District in close vote

Republican Scott Garrett is the winner in a close House of Delegates 23rd District race, unofficial returns show, but Democrat Shannon Valentine is not conceding the race.

Garrett, a Lynchburg city councilman, claimed victory just before 9 p.m. after he edged out the incumbent, Valentine by 203 votes.

Valentine said she is waiting for Wednesday’s canvass of vote totals for the official tally.

Valentine led the race until results were counted from the final city precinct, Heritage Elementary School.

Final totals were:

Garrett: 10,800 votes
Valentine: 10,597 votes

The results come after a high-dollar, bruising campaign in which Garrett accused Valentine of favoring tax increases, and Valentine accused Garrett of distorting her record.

Valentine and Garrett faced each other in four forums during the race, and each debate produced some degree of confrontation as Garrett attacked Valentine’s record the past four years in the House of Delegates.

The two candidates have raised a total of at least $830,000 running for the House seat, which pays $17,640 per year as a part-time job.