Three-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Warner now knows his Republican challenger for November: Bert Mizusawa, who runs a consulting and technology firm based in McLean and won the Virginia GOP Senate primary on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Warner, 71, is seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate and has said publicly that if re-elected, this will be his final term in office. He serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and has built a campaign war chest of more than $16.1 million, dwarfing Mizusawa's $52,964 cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings reported by Cardinal News.

Warner has won his last three Senate elections by an average of nearly 15 percentage points and has never faced a primary challenge in 18 years in office. His closest race came in 2014, when he defeated former GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie by less than 1 percentage point, according to the Progress-Index. Virginia has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since John Warner (no relation) won his final term in 2002. The Cook Political Report rates the seat "Solid Democrat."

Warner's Democratic primary was canceled because no challenger qualified. In a statement the night of Aug. 4, Warner said he is "proud to be on the ballot alongside this exceptional Democratic ticket" and called on supporters to "knock doors, make calls, and organize" to hold the Senate seat and help Democrats win back the House.

Mizusawa's uphill climb

The Associated Press called the Republican primary at 7:29 p.m., just 29 minutes after polls closed. With all 133 localities reporting statewide, Mizusawa took 51% of the vote with 109,533 ballots, according to ARLnow. David Williams finished second at 29%, followed by Kim Farington at 20%.

In Fairfax County, Mizusawa earned about 47% with all 265 precincts reporting, according to FFXnow.

Mizusawa, 69, is a retired Army major general who was valedictorian of his West Point class and served as deputy undersecretary of the Army and a senior adviser to the CIA director. He campaigned on defense readiness, energy and foreign policy.

"We campaigned hard across Virginia and thanks to you, we now move on to defeat Senator Mark Warner," Mizusawa posted on social media the night of Aug. 4. "Let's unite Virginians for a big win in November."

Also on the November ballot: independent Mark Moran, a McLean native who was fined and suspended by the prediction market Kalshi in April for betting on his own race.

Beyer cruises in 8th District

Rep. Don Beyer won the Democratic primary in Virginia's 8th Congressional District, which includes McLean. The AP called that race at 7:34 p.m.

Beyer took 67% of the vote with 37,027 ballots. Mo Seifeldein finished second at 18%, followed by Adam Dunigan at 9%, Michael Duffin at 3% and Lorena Bruner at 3%.

Beyer, 76, is on track for a seventh term. He will face Republican Tony Sabio on Nov. 3.

Low turnout in Fairfax County

Turnout was thin across the board. In Fairfax County, about 20,000 Democratic ballots were cast in the 8th District, representing 8% turnout among more than 247,000 registered voters. Republican turnout was even lower: roughly 17,000 ballots countywide, about 2% of the county's 817,000-plus registered voters.

The primary was held in August rather than the state's typical mid-June date to accommodate a congressional redistricting referendum that voters approved in April. The Virginia Supreme Court later voided the referendum on procedural grounds, leaving existing district boundaries unchanged.

The general election is Nov. 3.