A victory for any would be historic — Moon Reynolds as Roanoke's first female mayor, Cobb as its first openly gay mayor and Bowers for the sheer precedent of a fifth term.

Cobb is laying the groundwork for a campaign as Mayor Sherman Lea and Councilwoman Trish White-Boyd announce they won’t seek reelection.

Roanoke City had long been represented in the Senate by a Democrat, Sen. John Edwards, who was elected in 1995 and opted to retire.

The city’s relative lag in early voting could be a troublesome sign for Democrats, though other theories could explain the low rate.

The campaign said White-Boyd's invocation of “parental rights” may have led to some confusion.

Trish White-Boyd defeated Luke Priddy and "DA" Pierce to become the Democratic nominee facing Republican Sen. David Suetterlein in the fall.

Roanoke City Council members Trish White-Boyd and Luke Priddy as well as political novice DeAnthony “DA” Pierce are running.

Roanoke City Council members Joe Cobb and Luke Priddy did not rule out running for the Roanoke Valley seat.

Thanks to a new law, voters, politicians and others can pinpoint how well candidates fared across Roanoke’s diverse neighborhoods.

Democrats on Tuesday took all four Roanoke City Council seats, fending off an unusually strong Republican bid.

Our one-stop shop of comprehensive news coverage of the Roanoke City Council elections.

“We don’t have to do underhanded and dirty stuff to win," candidate Preston Tyler said about the removal of his campaign signs.

The use of PACs shows how closely candidates are running as party tickets in a race that will determine a majority of the City Council makeup.

Robert Jeffrey Jr. is asking a judge to toss out a November special election to fill his seat and force City Council to reinstate him.

Family of Peter Volosin and Vivian Sanchez-Jones passed out sample ballots, complaint filed by losing candidate alleges.

If Democrats sweep the general election, Roanoke's city council would have the most gay members among any single Virginia locality.

The trio will make up the Democratic ticket for four-year City Council seats in the Nov. 8 general election.

Campaign signs were damaged and passing drivers have been harassing election staff and would-be voters.