Two first-time candidates and a returning incumbent claimed the three available seats on Roanoke City Council Tuesday, as Democrats Raekwon Moore, Danny Clawson and Vivian Sanchez-Jones topped a seven-candidate field, according to unofficial results. They defeated independents David Bowers, Stephanie Moon-Reynolds and Kathy Cohen, and Republican Amanda Marko.

Roanoke, VA

Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff, Hart Fowler Lead

Published: 8:00 AM EST November 4, 2026

Edited: 8:00 AM EST November 4, 2026

Listen Here: Roanokesradio.com

Democrats sweep Roanoke’s City Council race, while Beth Macy’s David-and-Goliath challenge ends in defeat against Republican incumbent Ben Cline in the 6th District.

Two first-time candidates and a returning incumbent claimed the three available seats on Roanoke City Council Tuesday, as Democrats Raekwon Moore, Danny Clawson and Vivian Sanchez-Jones topped a seven-candidate field, according to unofficial results. They defeated independents David Bowers, Stephanie Moon-Reynolds and Kathy Cohen, and Republican Amanda Marko.

Moore led with 16,408 votes, followed by Clawson with 12,867 and Sanchez-Jones with 12,577, repeating the finishing order of August’s Democratic primary. Former Mayor David Bowers finished fourth with 10,283 votes, followed by former councilwoman Stephanie Moon-Reynolds with 10,251. Republican Amanda Marko received 8,835 and independent Kathy Cohen received 8,403.

The gap between Sanchez-Jones and Bowers was 2,294 votes in the election-night returns. Voters could choose up to three candidates in the at-large contest.

Across the city, 32,631 ballots were cast out of 68,854 registered voters, a turnout of about 47.4%. Results remain unofficial as election officials review provisional ballots and complete the canvass.

The Democratic sweep did not extend to Roanoke author Beth Macy’s congressional bid. Republican incumbent Ben Cline defeated Macy in the 6th District, even as she carried her home city by a wide margin.

Two New Faces at City Hall

Moore, a mental health professional, and Clawson, executive director of the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition, will join Sanchez-Jones for four-year terms beginning in January. The other council members are Mayor Joe Cobb, Vice Mayor Terry McGuire, Nick Hagen and Phazhon Nash.

The election follows the August primary defeat of Councilman Peter Volosin. Independent Councilwoman Evelyn Powers did not seek reelection. Sanchez-Jones was the only incumbent on November’s council ballot.

Moore and Clawson campaigned on public health, housing and opposition to Flock license plate-reading cameras. Both received endorsements from Macy and Del. Sam Rasoul during the primary campaign, when the newcomers outpolled the sitting council members seeking the Democratic nomination.

The general election also turned away two familiar names in city politics. Bowers and Moon-Reynolds had both run for mayor in 2024. Their bids this year emphasized neighborhood input and objections to the city’s residential zoning changes. Cohen, a retired rabbi, stressed transparency and community involvement, while Marko emphasized economic development and civil liberties.

Housing Density Provides One Test of How the Incoming Council will Work Together

The Rambler’s campaign coverage documented differences among the three Democratic winners, even as all ran under the same party banner.

Sanchez-Jones voted for the 2024 residential zoning reforms. Clawson has defended the reforms against efforts to roll them back, while Moore has supported development with changes addressing neighborhood concerns, including street access and parking.

“I am for development in this city,” Moore said at the Rambler’s July community mixer. “I am for reworking the zoning amendment to make sure that the things that the community have brought up are implemented.”

The new members’ opposition to Flock cameras gives voters another campaign position to watch once they take office. At the Rambler’s September forum, Clawson distinguished opposition to Flock from opposition to every use of cameras, pointing to school-zone speeding enforcement as a different application.

Clawson also called for greater investment in psychiatric care and regional cooperation on homelessness. Those priorities will join the demands on city services, school funding and the budget that occupied candidates throughout the campaign.

The election settles who gets a seat at the table. It leaves the next council to decide how those promises translate into policy.

Macy’s David-and-Goliath Fight

Roanoke is one part of a congressional district extending north through the Shenandoah Valley. The seat is decided by the combined districtwide vote, so a candidate’s lead in the city can be outweighed by votes elsewhere. This boundary map shows geography, not election results.

Macy’s supporters gathered Tuesday night at The Exchange in Roanoke, where campaign banners and balloons framed the stage as the returns came in.

The author and former newspaper reporter carried Roanoke with 22,630 votes to Cline’s 9,655, about 70% of the city’s congressional vote. The districtwide count told a different story.

State returns retrieved shortly after midnight showed Cline with 166,564 votes and Macy with 130,855, roughly 55.9% to 43.9%, including write-ins in the percentage calculation. The numbers remain unofficial and may change as outstanding ballots are counted.

Roanoke is one part of a district stretching north through the Shenandoah Valley. A large hometown margin could not, on its own, deliver the seat: the winner is determined by the combined vote across the district.

The boundaries used for this election were approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia in December 2021. The court’s May 2026 decision voiding the redistricting referendum left the existing map in place for this race. The geography and the result provide context for Macy’s uphill contest; establishing a claim that gerrymandering caused her defeat. 

Senator Mark Warner

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner won a fourth term Tuesday, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa in a race the Associated Press called as polls closed at 7 p.m.

In Roanoke, Warner received 22,974 votes to Mizusawa's 9,244, according to unofficial results. That's about 71% of the city vote and a margin of roughly 43 points, wider than the 32-point margin, he won here in 2020. Statewide, Warner led 61% to 39% with an estimated 96% of votes counted.

"This is my last campaign," Warner told supporters in Alexandria.

As the Rambler reported in its profile last month, Warner's pitch to the Roanoke Valley rested on things residents can see: repairs on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a new parking lot at McAfee Knob and federal money for RoVa Labs downtown. His plans for a final term are just as local. He wants lower grocery and health costs, more staff at the Salem VA Medical Center and disclosure rules for data centers like Google's projects in Daleville and Roanoke County.

Mizusawa, a retired Army major general running for office for the first time, raised about $1.1 million. Warner raised $27.5 million.

The Ballot Questions

Unofficial statewide returns also showed majorities supporting all three constitutional amendments: reproductive freedom, removal of the same-sex marriage ban, and voting rights restoration upon release from incarceration. Roanoke voters backed each measure as well. 

Question 2 is where the city's change shows most clearly. In 2006, Roanoke voted 54.4% in favor of the same sex marriage ban. Twenty years later, the same city voted 66% to strike it out.

The county result on Question 1 deserves a closer look. Reproductive rights lost there by 303 votes out of nearly 44,000 cast, and they ran almost 3 points ahead of Warner. That number could still move as provisional and late mail ballots are counted.

The fight isn't over. Opponents plan to ask a Tazewell County court on Nov. 13 to block certification of the results. That's also the deadline for Roanoke's electoral board to send its certified results to the state.

Voter turnout was 47% in the city and 59% in the county

The Roanoke Rambler