UPDATE: Petersen, Culipher, Bulova, Schoeneman React to Democratic Party Win in Fairfax City

UPDATE (11:33 a.m.): Added Schoeneman's remarks.

(8:56 a.m.): Added Culipher's remarks. Scroll down to find them in the article.

Sen. and Del. celebrated a Democratic Party victory within Fairfax City precincts after they both beat their Republican competitors by about 1,500 and 1,000 votes, respectively.

Click here for the latest district-wide results.

The win comes in the midst of a fiercely contested election. Republicans need only two seats to take over a majority in the Virginia Senate with Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling's tie-breaker vote. It looks like they might have done it.

"It's been a tough year for Democrats," Petersen said. "A solid win in Fairfax City, a normally hotly-contested area, is all I can hope for."

"I'm happy with the results, especially since I got my home precinct," said Bulova. 

Petersen won 3,022 Fairfax City votes over Oakton resident and Republican 's 1,578. Bulova took the city's seven precincts with 2,818 votes over Fairfax resident and Republican 's 1,780.

They met with volunteers and supporters at Old Fire Station 3 in downtown Fairfax City on election night. The bar and restaurant's suspended television sets refreshed the state's election results while campaigners crowded around tables, eating sandwiches and watching the results on laptops. The party ended shortly after both candidates' results were in for Fairfax City. With a decent lead over their competitors, the crowd broke up shortly before 10 p.m.

Petersen said he expects to sleep for 12 hours after visiting other Fairfax County Democratic candidates at the Waterford at Fair Oaks. "It's been a rough week," he said. When he wakes up it's back to work again.

Culipher congratulated her opponent and thanked her volunteers for their help.

"I'm very proud of our volunteers put a lot of time, their family time, their personal time to come and help me and get our message out to the voters," she said.

She said she would consider running for public office again in the future because she's dedicated to changing the face and direction of politics, but did not want to predict whether she'd seek a spot on the same ballot in four years.

Bulova noted that this election year was different than his last two campaigns. When he first ran for House of Delegates in 2005 his campaign revolved around introducing himself to voters.

"I started with a blank slate. I didn't know if the issues would resonate with voters," he said. "Now I've had the last six years to touch on issues that are important to my constituents."

"Congratulations to David on his reelection. I am proud of the race I ran and thankful for all of the hard work and support of my staff and volunteers," Schoeneman said. "We knocked on over 15,000 doors and raised over $160,000 - not bad for a young, first time candidate. I am also proud that David and I ran clean campaigns, focused on the issues, not mudslinging. I wish him the best of luck for the next session, and I'm looking forward to spending some good quality time with my wife and son."

Fairfax City Precinct Breakdown

Fairfax City Turnout by Percentage

• Culipher vs. Petersen: 31.08
• Bulova vs. Schoeneman: 31.04

for a summary of other major races throughout Northern Virginia.