Rural incumbent defeats (more) urban opponent in key Virginia Senate primary

It appears that long-time Virginia politician, Creigh Deeds, has defeated Democratic primary challenger (and University of Virginia professor) Sally Hudson.  Here's what the Washington Post is showing, with 95% of the votes in:  

Ben Pavior reported on the race for NPR yesterday, framing the contest as one between upstart urban professor and rural incumbent who has served in the Virginia legislature nearly as long as his opponent has been alive.  Here's an excerpt:    

Deeds is a self-described "country boy" who grew up on a farm hunting in a Democratic family. He's a familiar face at a community center in Esmont, a half hour south of Charlottesville, where he spent a recent evening talking to a rare breed: rural Democrats.

"We've got to figure out how to get people reengaged with the Democratic Party," says Deeds, who recently moved to Charlottesville to run in the new district after representing the old, mostly rural district that stretched from reliably liberal Charlottesville to conservative counties on the West Virginia border.

* * * 

Hudson and Deeds have different explanations for why Democrats faltered in 2021. Deeds singles out Gov. Youngkin's vast personal wealth and ability to fundraise. Hudson says Republicans did a better job connecting with everyday issues facing voters rather than concentrating on Trump.

Still, Ken Plum, who is the second longest-serving member of Virginia's House in its 400-year history, says Democrats have evolved significantly from when he first arrived in 1978. Back then, what he describes as "ultra conservative, right wing, racist" Dixiecrats dominated the legislature.

Plum is retiring this year and has ambivalent feelings about the primaries. He says some of this year's races are about personal ambitions. At the same time, he says the party needs to keep adding fresh voices. "I think that's probably healthy for the party and for the state in the long haul," Plum says.

Here's some coverage of the race from The Daily Progress, which suggests that Hudson has been dishonest about Deeds' record on gun reform.  

This, on the residency of Deeds--which was apparently disputed, as noted in The Daily Progress story--is  from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: 

Deeds lived in Bath County, closer to West Virginia’s border, before the state Supreme Court reconfigured the state’s legislative districts. In 2021, he moved to Charlottesville to run for this seat.

The district encompasses the Democratic strongholds of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, plus Nelson and Amherst counties and part of Louisa County.

Deeds was in the national news about a decade ago when his son died by suicide after threatening his father's life.  He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2009.

Postscript:  Here's coverage of the race by the Cardinal News, which focuses on southwest Virginia (which Deeds previously represented in the Virginia House of Delegates and in the Virginia Senate) and the Southside, the term for the south central part of the state that abuts North Carolina.  This story also addresses how redistricting impacted the state senate race given that Deeds previously did not represent the Charlottesville area.