ST. CROIX — Former Senator Kurt Vialet emerged as the top vote-getter during Saturday’s primary election after returning to the senatorial race following an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2022, according to the unofficial results.
The primary election featured only Democratic candidates vying for seats in the Senate in the St. Croix District, the Virgin Islands Board of Education in the St. Thomas/St. John District, and the VI Board of Elections in both districts.
While Vialet received the most votes in the senatorial race with 1,233 (13.41%), all four incumbent senators on the ballot advanced to the general election.
Voters elected two candidates in the senatorial race who have never served in the Legislature, while two former senators didn’t make the cut to advance to the general election.
Vialet, who served four terms in the Senate from 2014 to 2022, noted that he is now back in the race heading to the general election.
“I’m very humbled by the support that I got,” he said from the Elections System of the Virgin Islands after the votes came in.
Vialet, who received the most votes during the general elections in 2014, 2016, and 2020, said he is looking forward to returning to the Legislature. He said he is not pleased with the way the Virgin Islands is functioning or with the infrastructure. He said he is running for the public office to demand accountability, and to make sure the lawmaking body passes a balanced budget that meets the territory’s needs. The former chair for three terms of the committee that oversees finances said the budget is “way out of whack.”
“They are spending money willy-nilly here and there, and I just want to make sure that I bring some semblance of structure back to the Legislature,” Vialet said. “The Legislature is supposed to be the check and balance, and they need to return to that. And I'm not seeing that right now.”
The top seven senatorial candidates will head to the general election. The four incumbent senators advancing are Senate President Novelle Francis Jr. and Senators Kenneth Gittens, Diane Capehart, and Marise James. Francis and Gittens secured the third and fourth spots, respectively. Francis received 939 votes, or 10.21%. Gittens received 929 votes, or 10.10%. Capehart captured the sixth position with 820 votes (8.92%), while James took the seventh spot with 762 votes (8.29%).
Gittens and Francis dropped slightly in their positions compared to the 2022 primary election when they secured the top two spots, with Gittens at the top and Francis in the second spot. James fell four positions after finishing the 2022 primary election in the third spot, while Capehart dropped two positions.
In addition to Vialet and the four incumbents advancing to the general election, two candidates who have never served in the Legislature will be heading to the general election.
Clifford Joseph, a retired firefighter who led the VI Fire Service as director for three years under former Governor Kenneth Mapp, received the second highest votes in the senatorial race with 1,023 (11.13%). He said he was “humbled and thankful.”
“I'm ready,” he said from the ESVI office. “I’m committed to give my time and efforts to allow St. Croix to start a rise because we've been sinking for some time.”
Joseph, who ran for Senate his first time, said he worked hard on his campaign.
“I’m a candidate that the Virgin Islands could trust,” he said. “St. Croix for sure know that when I put my work hat on, I work. I work and I deliver, and I’m planning to bring the same energy to the Legislature.”
Hubert Frederick, who finished the 2022 primary election in the eighth position with just 10 votes shy of making the cut to advance to the general election, secured the fifth spot Saturday with 838 votes (9.11%).
“I’m definitely humbled; give God the glory, and I am just really appreciative of this opportunity to move forward,” Frederick said by phone. “I think the people have spoken. They’re interested in a new form of leadership, and I’m one of those, so I’m looking forward to the next step to compete and see where this ends. But my team and I, we’re committed. They’ve been exceptionally supportive and strong, and we’re going all the way.”
While voters elected two candidates who have never served in the Senate, two former senators who ran again did not advance to the general election.
Former Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, who served five consecutive terms until 2018, finished in the eighth position with 684 votes (7.44%). She said by phone that she was thankful for the people who supported her.
“I had really no illusion of winning the primary even though we gave it our best shot because I knew that the members of the Democratic Party had made a concerted effort to keep us off the top seven,” she said. “I had received a message from one of the heads of the party essentially saying that I had abandoned the party because I had supported or endorsed a non-Democrat and, you know, that hurt because I feel that we worked really hard when we served in the Legislature, that I am very committed to the island of St. Croix, and very passionate about helping to move our island forward.”
Former Senator Genevieve Whitaker, a one-term senator who received the second highest number of votes in the 2020 general election, finished the 2022 general election in the ninth position. She finished Saturday’s primary election in the 10th position with 536 votes (5.83%).
The other senatorial candidates who did not advance to the general election were attorney Russell Pate (655 votes, or 7.12%), Michael Springer Jr. (525 votes, or 5.71%), and Justin Smith (190 votes, or 2.07%).
Voters also had a chance to elect two of the three candidates running for the Board of Education in the St. Thomas/St. John District. The two candidates who advanced to the general election are existing board members Kyza Callwood, board chair, and Nandi Sekou. Callwood, who has served two, four-year terms on the board, received the most votes with 311 (43.62%).
“I am deeply honored and grateful to have been re-elected to serve as a member of the Virgin Islands Board of Education,” Callwood wrote in a text message to WTJX. “Your trust and support in this Democratic primary mean the world to me.”
Sekou received 290 votes, or 40.67%. Bruce Flamon, who received 107 votes (15.01%) did not advance.
Candidates running for the Board of Elections were elected in both districts.
On St. Croix, only one candidate advanced to the general election. C. Jason JnBaptiste is moving ahead with 434 votes, or 38.75%. Simone James (361 votes, or 32.33%) and A. Mardenborough Jr. (313 votes, or 27.95%) did not move ahead.
In the St. Thomas/St. John District, two candidates advanced. They were Lawrence Boschulte (233 votes, 33.05%) and Angeli Leerdam (197, or 27.94%), who now serves on the board. The candidates who failed to advance were Chaneel Callwood (196 votes, or 27.80%), and Ida-Mae Brown (72 votes, 10.21%).
With 20,350 Democrats registered to vote, 2,490 of them cast ballots during early voting and the primary election, resulting in a 12.24% voter turnout. The Elections System also distributed absentee ballots, including 101 in the St. Croix District, and 22 in the St. Thomas/St. John District. A total of 85 absentee ballots have been returned on St. Croix, while 14 have been returned in the St. Thomas/St. John District. Any outstanding absentee ballots mailed by 7 p.m. Saturday will be counted if they arrive at the ESVI office by 5 p.m. August 13.
