CULPEPER, Va. – Political passions ran high here as Virginia voters headed to the polls on Super Tuesday, with some voters less motivated to vote for a particular candidate than to vote against one.
Lee Ohnstad, 37, who supports Democrat Hillary Clinton for president, voted instead for Sen. Marco Rubio in the Republican primary to register her strong objection to Donald Trump's candidacy.
“I couldn’t live with myself unless I voted against him,’’ Ohnsted, a stay-at-home mom, said of Trump.
It wasn't enough to prevent Trump from winning the state, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in second and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in third. Clinton's supporters were able to start celebrating early when she was quickly declared the winner of the state's Democratic primary.
Virginia doesn't have party registration, so each of the state's 5.27 million voters could cast a ballot in either the Democratic or Republican primary (but not both). As a result, Super Tuesday's voting may offer a glimpse into how the state will tilt in November's general election.
Virginia's Republican ballot included 13 candidates, including many who have dropped out of the race. Besides Clinton and Sanders, I-Vt., the Democratic ballot also included former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who also has dropped out.
Twelve other states also voted Tuesday, as presidential hopefuls scrambled for shares of the biggest one-day pot of convention delegates in the 2016 primary season.
In Virginia, the battle was over 49 delegates on the GOP side and 95 delegates on the Democratic side.
Software engineer Bill Lee, 40, voted for President Obama in the last election. This year, he cast his ballot in Centreville, Va., for Trump, “because he shows leadership and makes tough decisions.’’
"After eight years of Obama, the country and the economy are stagnant and looking for change,’’ he said.
Going into Tuesday's primary, Trump led the Republican presidential field in Virginia, with 36.8% support, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls. Rubio was in second place with 22.3%, followed by Cruz (17.5%), Ohio Gov. John Kasich (7%) and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson (6.5%).
Going into Tuesday's primary Clinton had a 21.5-point lead over Sanders in the state.
Turnout was heavy through the late afternoon in Culpeper, located about 70 miles outside the nation’s capital. By 3:30 p.m., 773 Republican votes and 466 Democratic votes had been cast in the town's two largest voting districts.
Culpeper is part of the congressional district where conservative Rep. David Brat defeated former House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a June 2014 primary. .
Shirley Whittingdon, 73, of Culpeper, said she supports Clinton because of the former secretary of state's experience.
"She sure knows what’s been going on and what’s happened in the past,’’ she said.
Andrew Sullivan, 18, a senior at Culpeper County High, voted for Sanders because of his plan for free college tuition, universal health care and redistribution of wealth.
Victoria Demaire, 21, a volunteer for Cruz's campaign, expected him to do well because he’s “a constitutionalist’’ and many local voters have “tea party values of limited government and fiscal responsibility.’’
Earlier Tuesday, voters interviewed outside a polling place in Centreville, Va., in the Washington suburbs, spoke highly of Sanders and critically of Trump.
“I think that we really need a political revolution,’’ said Stephanie Taraday, 33, who supports Sanders. “I think that we need some change. I’ll be happy whether Hillary or Bernie wins, but I’m sort of tired of the same-old, same-old and I think Hillary will bring back the same-old. I’d like someone new.’’
Kaitlyn Babyak, a senior at George Mason University, voted for Cruz.
“Trump I think is a joke,’’ she said. “I hope that everybody comes out and makes sure he doesn’t make it.’’
Jenessa Citizen, 32, voted for Clinton as a show of support for the work Obama has done.
"She was under his administration for six or seven years anyway, as his secretary of state, so I think she’s going to continue the good work he’s started,’’ Citizen said. 
