Local House candidates pass unopposed primaries, prepare for general election

Both candidates to represent Petersburg and other communities in House District 35, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins and Republican Steven Samuelson, had an easy time arriving at the ballot box this year. Both candidates ran through the primaries unopposed in their respective parties and both are veteran campaigners, with Samuelson making another run at a legislative seat after a defeat in 2010's Republican Primary to Peggy Wilson. Kreiss-Tompkins is the closest to an incumbent, prior to challenged redistricting that saw municipalities repeatedly shuffled around on legislative maps.

Yet the b...