By Tracy Agnew and Sterling Giles

Suffolk went heavily for Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s presidential race, contributing to what looked increasingly like a Democrat win in Virginia as the evening wore on.

Clinton won nearly 55 percent of the Suffolk vote, compared to only about 41 percent for Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Statewide, Clinton remained ahead in Virginia by a single percentage point at press time, with about 95 percent of precincts reporting.

However, the presidential race was too close to call nationwide at press time.

The presidential contest, congressional races and a slate of contested local seats brought out a robust turnout throughout Suffolk.

Just a few hours after the rush of early commuters, the Nansemond River precinct at its new location — Canaan Baptist Church on Nansemond Parkway — reported a steady flow.

“Things have been smooth,” said Lester Gates, one of the traffic facilitators at Canaan Baptist Church. “People have been coming in and out.”

Traffic facilitators said the lines wrapped around the parking lot early in the morning.

“Everyone was thinking alike to get here early,” said Theodore Vincent, another one of the traffic facilitators at Canaan.

Voters were forced to park across the street and down the road due to limited parking at the church.

However, in the afternoon, the wait time was down to 5 or 10 minutes.

Voters agreed this year’s presidential race has been different from previous elections.

“It’s so hard to vote for what they believe, in because they were busy calling each other names,” said Ursula Novellino, a voter at the Canaan Baptist Church site.

Chanel Rasmussen, a voter at the new Lakeside location of Suffolk Presbyterian Church, said she made her decision based on the candidates’ character traits and principles.

She believes in “strength, making decisions, strong morals and the principles our country was founded on,” she said. “This election has the potential to divide the country more than past elections.”

Congressional elections were on Tuesday’s ballots, as well. Democrats Robert C. “Bobby” Scott and A. Donald McEachin won the 3rd and 4th Districts, respectively.

Scott won the Suffolk vote over opponent Marty Williams. Republican Michael Wade narrowly beat McEachin in Suffolk, but as it turned out, that didn’t carry him to victory throughout his district.

Two special elections on the ballot seated new representatives in the Virginia General Assembly. Democrat T. Monty Mason was elected for the 1st District of the Virginia Senate, while Cliff Hayes Jr. was elected for the 77th District House of Delegates.

Two constitutional amendment questions were on Tuesday’s ballot, as well.

The first amendment proposal, regarding agreements between labor unions and employers, was shot down both in Suffolk and statewide.

The second amendment proposal, allowing the General Assembly to allow localities to provide a tax break to the surviving spouses of law enforcement officers, firefighters and other emergency personnel killed in action, passed by a wide margin.

James Banks, vice chair of the Suffolk Electoral Board, said he was pleased with the turnout and that no major problems had been experienced.

He said some people were waiting in line as early as 4:30 a.m. to vote at some precincts. The polls did not open until 6 a.m.

There were some reports on Facebook and word of mouth that voters at the Bennett’s Creek precinct, held at Nansemond River Baptist Church, were handed the ballot for the wrong borough. However, Banks said he had not heard of that.