As Churchill Downs Corp. readies for the potential stretch run to win voter approval of a casino resort in Richmond, the question of whether to allow a second vote in the city or a rival bid in Petersburg looms over local June 20 primaries for seats at the table in the next General Assembly.

Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Petersburg, is betting on the issue in a hard-fought Democratic primary campaign against former Del. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, who has put him on the defensive over abortion rights in the new 13th Senate District.

Morrissey has championed a proposed $1.4 billion casino resort in Petersburg to replace a project Richmond voters rejected in 2021, the same night that Aird lost her House of Delegates seat to Republican Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie.