(The Center Square) – More than six in 10 votes cast in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race went to the same candidate Tuesday, a level of support no contender had reached in the commonwealth since 2008.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner won a fourth term with 61.2% of the vote against Republican Bert Mizusawa, according to Virginia Department of Elections results reported Thursday morning.

Warner’s vote share was the highest for any U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia since his first victory in 2008, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

The Associated Press declared Warner the winner at 7 p.m. Tuesday, as polls closed across Virginia.

The results showed Warner with 2,182,713 votes and Mizusawa with 1,376,556, or 38.6%. Warner led by 806,157 votes. The results are unofficial pending certification.

The showing surpassed Warner’s two previous reelection performances but fell short of the 65% he received against Republican Jim Gilmore in 2008.

His closest U.S. Senate race came in 2014, when he defeated Republican Ed Gillespie by 17,727 votes. Warner received 49.2% that year, compared with Gillespie’s 48.3%. Libertarian Robert Sarvis also ran.

Warner won another term in 2020 with 56% against Republican Daniel Gade.

This year, large advantages in Northern Virginia helped build his statewide lead.

Fairfax County gave Warner a margin of 244,733 votes. He received 75.8% of the county’s vote, compared with Mizusawa’s 23.8%.

Warner also received 84.7% in Arlington County, where he led by 70,994 votes, and 84.8% in Alexandria.

His support extended to the Richmond suburbs and Hampton Roads. In Chesterfield County, Warner received 62.3% and led by 43,376 votes. In Chesapeake, he received 59.3% and finished 18,991 votes ahead.

Some localities were much closer. Warner led by 117 votes in Accomack County on the Eastern Shore, receiving 50.4% to Mizusawa’s 49.5%. His lead in Essex County was 187 votes.

Mizusawa carried several counties by wide margins, including Bedford, where he received 70.6% and led by 16,608 votes. In Augusta County, he received 67.5% and led by 12,161 votes.

The Virginia Public Access Project’s historical comparison includes elections for both of Virginia’s U.S. Senate seats. Warner’s preliminary share exceeded every candidate’s result in those races since his 2008 win.