Hingeley unseats Tracci as Albemarle County commonwealth’s attorney

CHARLOTTESVILLE, V.A. (WVIR) - Albemarle County will have a new top prosecutor.

Democrat Jim Hingeley unseated incumbent Robert Tracci Tuesday night after receiving 56% of the vote. He is a University of Virginia professor and former public defender.

Hingeley will replace Tracci, who started as Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney in 2015 after knocking off incumbent Denise Lunsford.

The battle between Hingeley and Tracci was bitter, as the two fired off at each other in recent weeks. In the end, the Democrat won by more than 4,800 votes.

Hingeley joined democrats in celebration on Election Night. He says this win is all about taking the criminal justice system in a different direction.

"It feels great but what really feels good is to have a chance for this community to participate in deciding what kind of criminal justice system we're going to have,” Hingeley said. “So I’m excited about the voters participating in making this decision."

Hingeley ran on his belief of restoring voting rights to people when they are finished serving time and ending mass incarceration throughout the county. That is expected to be among his focus when he starts his new job in 2020.