In a surprising turn of events, a far-left prosecutor in Virginia, who had received substantial financial support from liberal billionaire George Soros, was defeated in the recent election despite significantly outspending her opponent.
Buta Biberaj, the Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney, who has been backed by Soros with nearly $1 million since 2019, lost to her Republican opponent, Bob Anderson, by a mere 300 votes. The final tally was completed on Tuesday evening after counting the remaining ballots from last week's election, as reported by Fox 5 DC.
"We are finished. We are waiting for the certification. Our electoral board is working on signing abstracts, and reviewing paperwork," a Loudoun County election official informed Fox 5.
The final count revealed that Anderson secured 68,080 votes, while Biberaj received 67,768 votes.
"This is the closest Commonwealths Attorneys race in Loudoun history. Following the canvass process, Buta trails by just 300 votes out of more than 136,000 votes cast," Shannon Sankey, Biberaj's campaign manager, told the Fox affiliate. "This 0.22% deficit puts our campaign well within the margin for a recount in Virginia. Our campaign is reviewing the results and we expect to make a decision shortly on our next steps. Buta remains committed to protecting democratic rights and ensuring that every Loudoun residents vote is counted."
Despite being significantly outspent by Biberaj, Anderson, who previously held the position from 1996 to 2003, emerged victorious. Data from the Virginia Public Access Project shows that Biberaj spent nearly $1.1 million on the race, almost 16 times more than the $70,356 spent by Anderson.
Throughout the campaign, Biberaj received support from external groups such as the Working Families Party National PAC and the Soros-backed Justice and Public Safety PAC. Biberaj is among the many candidates across the country who have been financially boosted by Soros in his attempt to reform the criminal justice system.
Since 2019, the Justice and Public Safety PAC has spent $926,000 supporting Biberaj's candidacy, which has been used for ad buys, literature, and polling services. Between 2019 and 2022, Soros transferred more than $2.4 million into the Justice & Public Safety PAC from his personal funds and his Democracy PAC.
The Soros-funded PAC has also spent significant amounts supporting other Virginia prosecutor candidates in recent years, two of whom won re-election on Tuesday, including Parisa Dehghani-Tafti in Arlington County, who ran unopposed, and Steve Descano in Fairfax County, who faced a write-in challenge but ultimately won by nearly 149,000 votes.
Biberaj's tenure as Commonwealth's Attorney has been marked by controversy since she assumed office in 2020. Last year, she was hit with a bar complaint after a circuit court judge removed her office from a criminal case for "deliberately misleading the Court and the public."
In 2022, a Virginia judge dismissed Biberaj from an appeal case citing "concerns" over "impartiality." The case involved a Virginia father who was arrested while speaking out at a school board meeting after his daughter was sexually assaulted in a public school bathroom by a male student.
Biberaj has also been accused of using her office to target political opponents and faced criticism for hiring a convicted sex offender as a paralegal.
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