11-06-2026 6:49am

Mark Warner wins fourth Senate term, carries Spotsylvania County

John Williams Editor

By The Spotsylvania Gazette

By The Spotsylvania Gazette

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. — Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner won a fourth term on Nov. 3, defeating Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa by more than 800,000 votes statewide. Warner also carried Spotsylvania County by 11.3 percentage points in unofficial returns, two years after the county backed the Republican nominee in Virginia’s 2024 U.S. Senate race. (apnews.com⁠, watch.vote⁠, carmenaresearch.com⁠)

Warner received 2,182,958 votes, or 61.2%, to Mizusawa’s 1,376,709 votes, or 38.6%, according to unofficial Virginia Department of Elections figures compiled by Watch.vote as of Thursday evening, Nov. 5. Another 9,432 votes went to write-in candidates. The Associated Press called the race for Warner on election night. (watch.vote⁠, apnews.com⁠)

How Spotsylvania and neighboring counties voted

Warner’s 11.3-point lead in Spotsylvania was about half his statewide margin of 22.6 points. In the 2024 Senate race, the Republican nominee led in Spotsylvania by 4.9 points. The difference between the two results was about 16 percentage points in the Democratic direction. (carmenaresearch.com⁠, carmenaresearch.com⁠)

Warner also carried Stafford and Caroline counties in unofficial returns. In Stafford, election-night figures published by Potomac Local gave Warner 39,963 votes, or 60.0%, to Mizusawa’s 26,426 votes, or 39.7%. Warner led by about nine points in Caroline. (potomaclocal.com⁠, carmenaresearch.com⁠)

Warner says this was his last campaign

Warner, a former Virginia governor and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told supporters at his election-night gathering in Alexandria that he would make this his final campaign. “This is my last campaign, but this is not the end of the road,” he said, according to the Virginia Mercury. (washingtonpost.com⁠, virginiamercury.com⁠)

Warner called for restoring enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, creating a public health insurance option and setting federal standards for data centers. Mizusawa, a retired Army major general and Afghanistan veteran, emphasized his military service during the campaign. (virginiamercury.com⁠, apnews.com⁠, washingtonpost.com⁠)

All 133 Virginia localities had reported in the Thursday statewide update. The vote totals remain unofficial pending certification. (watch.vote⁠)