The team at State Navigate was eagerly following primary election results in Virginia earlier this month, but their main interest wasn’t which of the candidates would win, it was the data itself.

It was an early test run for what founder Chaz Nuttycombe envisions as the go-to source for state-level election information.

Nuttycombe grew up in Hanover County and attended Virginia Tech, where he studied political science.

His forecasting powers were on display in 2023, when he predicted every Virginia state legislative district correctly.

“I would say I’ve really been a politics junkie since 2015,” he said. “2017 was when I paid attention to my first state-level election. The reason why I started out and wanted to do it is because nobody else was really doing it.”

The website launched in a limited form earlier this year, with the goal of expanding to all 50 states in the next couple years.

Beyond simply offering forecasts, data and predictions, Nuttycombe wants to create more interest in state government as a whole, feeling it is largely ignored in the current environment.

“State government keeps getting overlooked,” he said. “You know, I’ve seen wife beaters and child molesters win state legislative office. And I think it’s just a matter of the fact that people don’t know who’s on their ballot. That’s one of the things we want to do, is just make it easier to navigate state legislatures.”

He found a kindred spirit in State Navigate’s development director, Jack Kersting.

The two met on Twitter, as Kersting lives in Texas. Now they share ideas back and forth as they build out what Nuttycombe describes as a multi-page list of future improvements for the site.

“He’s very creative, and it kind of feels like when I’m talking with him on ideas it’s like playing tennis,” Nuttycombe said. “I shoot a ball into his court, and he shoots one right back at me, and it’ll be something better.”

Kersting, who is also in his mid-20’s, was also inspired when he was in high school by statistical modeling.

He said he’s hopeful the site becomes a go-to source for mainstream news outlets and other news influencers.

Kersting was among the staff members glued to his computer the night of the Virginia primary, tinkering with computer models as data arrived in real-time. The first 10 minutes had some hiccups, he said, but the group was quickly able to fix them.

It’s fitting that Nuttycombe started in Virginia, his home state, and one where he enjoys good name recognition.

He’ll unveil his initial forecast for this year’s Virginia legislative elections on Sunday at a launch event and fundraiser in Montpelier.

Nuttycombe said there will be politicians from both sides of the aisle, as well as others who have helped launch State Navigate. The fundraiser will help the site expand in the future.

“There are a lot of features that are still yet to come, and it will be like an evolving creature over time,” Kersting said.

Note: Richmonder staff reporter Graham Moomaw serves on State Navigate’s State Government and Journalism Advisory Committee.

This story has been updated to correct the quote with Nuttycombe's reasons for starting the site.

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.