By Matt de Simone
Republicans Steve Clinton (Amsterdam District) and Amy White (Buchanan) won their respective primaries for Board of Supervisors last Saturday.
Voting kicked off at Buchanan Elementary on Saturday morning with a line out of the gymnasium doors. Residents wore shirts and held signs for their respective candidates outside of the school as voters drove in and out of the parking lot.
Buchanan residents cast over 450 votes with White taking over 75% of the vote, beating out Will Smith for the Republican nomination for the board seat representing the Buchanan District.
White sees the number of voters who came out in Buchanan as the district’s “real victory.” On a phone interview Monday morning, White mentioned she thought the voter turnout was “amazing.”
“I will represent everyone with integrity and passion for Botetourt County and for the Town of Buchanan,” White continued. “I think the enthusiasm and commitment shown Saturday is something we can be really proud of and it gives us something to work on toward the future.”
Lord Botetourt High School hosted the voting later in the afternoon. Clinton edged opposing candidate Jim Ludington by a margin of 228 votes to Ludington’s 166.
“Competitive campaigns are never easy, but they are always fulfilling and always instructive,” Clinton stated in a letter written to The Fincastle Herald. “[Campaigns are] fulfilling because they afford the opportunity to personally share thoughts and observations with citizens, and instructive because they showcase the opportunities as well as the challenges before us.”
While the Buchanan and Amsterdam District voters made up their minds on their respective Republican candidates for board seats this November, Clinton and White may end up running unopposed. At this time, no Democrats have stepped up to run for the Amsterdam or Buchanan District seats.