<p>ANNANDALE, Va. — Tens of thousands of Virginians are casting ballots to choose nominees for governor and other statewide offices.</p>
<p>The Republican Party is holding what it’s calling an “unassembled convention” on Saturday to select its nominees in this year’s race for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.</p>
<p>Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009.</p>
<p>Because pandemic restrictions ban mass gatherings, delegates are casting ballots at nearly 40 polling sites across the state.</p>
<p>More than 53,000 Virginians successfully pre-registered as delegates. GOP officials rejected applications from roughly 700 would-be delegates. Virginia is the only state with an open-seat gubernatorial race this year.</p>
<p>Four candidates — Amanda Chase, Kirk Cox, Pete Snyder and Glenn Youngkin — all have a shot at winning the nomination in a race that where no clear favorite has been established.</p>
<p>Polling closes at 4 p.m. Saturday, but the party won’t even begin counting ballots until Sunday.</p>
<p>It may take several days to finish the count, which is complicated by ranked-choice voting and proportional representation that is awarded to each city and county.</p>
<p>Democrats will choose their gubernatorial nominee in a primary next month. Former governor Terry McAuliffe is the frontrunner in a field of five Democrats.</p>
<p>Incumbent Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is barred from seeking reelection under Virginia’s term limit rules.</p>
