NORFOLK, Va. — Several candidates have already thrown their hats into the ring for Virginia's 2025 statewide races.
The Commonwealth is one of a handful of states with elections held in odd-numbered years. One of those races is Virginia governor, which has been held by Republican Glenn Youngkin since 2022. Since he is limited to one term, the office is up for grabs next year.
The lieutenant governor, attorney general, and all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates will also be on the ballot come Nov. 4, 2025. But before then, candidates will have to duke it out in the Democratic and GOP primaries.
Few Republicans have announced their candidacies for statewide races, but Democrats are already getting started, especially with the gubernatorial and lieutenant governor races. Here's a look at the candidates we know are running.
Virginia governor candidates:
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D)
The Democratic congresswoman announced in November that she would run for Virginia governor in the 2025 election, foregoing re-election for a fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Formerly a CIA officer, Spanberger was elected to the House in 2018, where she built a reputation for bipartisanship and moderate stances on several issues. She represents Virginia's highly competitive 7th Congressional District, comprised of Prince William County, Stafford County, and Spotsylvania County among other localities.
Spanberger has garnered a list of high-profile endorsements in her gubernatorial campaign, including former Gov. Ralph Northam, U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, and several members of the Virginia General Assembly, according to her campaign website.
By the end of 2023, Spanberger raised more than $3.6 million for her campaign, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R)
At a rally in Virginia Beach on the evening of Sept. 5, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears announced she's running for governor.
According to Virginia Department of Elections documentation, Earle-Sears filed a statement of organization form with the board on Sept. 4.
According to her official website, Earle-Sears was the first Republican in Virginia since 1865 to be elected to a majority Black House of Delegates district in 2002.
She is also the first female Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first Black female elected statewide, the first naturalized female elected to statewide office – and the first female Veteran to be elected to statewide office.
Currently, all three of Virginia’s statewide state government offices — governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general — are currently held by Republicans and will be on the ballot next year. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, like all Virginia governors, is prohibited from seeking a second consecutive term.
Earle-Sears is the first Republican to announce candidacy for Virginia's 2025 gubernatorial race.
Virginia lieutenant governor candidates:
State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D)
The second-term state senator announced her candidacy for the lieutenant governor on May 2, the fourth Democratic candidate and first woman to enter this 2025 race.
In 2019, Hashmi became the first Muslim woman elected to the Virginia Senate, representing the 10th District in the Richmond region. After redistricting, she won re-election in the 2023 election for the 15th Senate District that spans the area between Richmond and Petersburg.
Before her time in office, she worked as a professor at Reynolds Community College. When Hashmi was four, she and her family immigrated from India to the United States, where she grew up in Georgia, according to a press release from her campaign.
The release also said Hashmi's focus is protecting reproductive rights and advocating for progressive values.
Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef (D)
Having served as the chairman of the Prince William County School Board since 2018, Lateef launched his campaign for lieutenant governor in March.
Aside from his school board service, Lateef is an ophthalmologist and the chair of the Health System Board of the UVA Board of Visitors.
In his campaign, he highlights his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his school district's energy and sustainability initiatives.
On his campaign website, Lateef says he worked to ensure the safety of faculty and students while working to reopen schools safely. He also touted Prince William County Public Schools' recognition from the federal government for environmentally-friendly buildings.
State Sen. Aaron Rouse (D)
The Virginia Beach state senator announced his campaign for Virginia lieutenant governor soon after Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney joined the race.
Rouse won a January 2023 special election for a Virginia Senate seat vacated by now-U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, and then won a full term in the November 2023 election for the 7th Senate District. He previously served on the Virginia Beach City Council and played in the NFL.
In his short time in office, one of Rouse's most notable accomplishments was carrying a bill to help first responders exposed to toxic chemicals on the job. Youngkin signed the bill into law earlier in April.
Rouse is focusing his campaign on Democrats retaking Virginia's statewide offices in 2025, arguing in his Tuesday announcement that the Republican Party is "fixated on stripping our fundamental freedoms" and "funding corporate tax breaks."
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D)
The two-term Richmond mayor joined the race for Virginia lieutenant governor after initially running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against Spanberger.
Stoney has been Richmond's mayor since 2017 and previously served as Virginia's secretary of the Commonwealth under Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Some of his mayoral accomplishments include commenced work on a $2.4 billion redevelopment project and more funding for the city's public schools, VPM reported in January.
In dropping his gubernatorial bid, Stoney explained that he wanted to avoid a costly and damaging primary ahead of the 2025 election. In an interview with 13News Now, he said his campaign priorities include advocating for working-class families and investing in public education.
Virginia attorney general candidates:
Attorney General Jason Miyares (R)
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that he is running for reelection on Nov. 18, stating "As Attorney General, I’ve deployed every tool available to keep Virginians safe and violent criminals off our streets... We are not going back to the failed policies of the past; our families' safety and Virginia's future depends on it."
RELATED: Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares will seek reelection, quelling talk of a gubernatorial bid
The Republican's announcement quells talk of a potential gubernatorial bid. Miyares was first elected as attorney general in 2021 after serving as a local attorney and member of the House of Delegates from Virginia Beach. He defeated two-term Democrat Mark Herring and quickly fashioned what had been a liberal office into a conservative enterprise.
He created an election integrity unit and successfully defended the state in removing people accused of being noncitizens from voter rolls less than three months before the November presidential election.
Former Norfolk Delegate Jay Jones (D)
The Democratic candidate Jay Jones announced on November 12 that he would be running for attorney general.
Jones said his highest priority as attorney general will be "the safety and freedom of Virginia families... Jones also claimed the current attorney general, Jason Miyares, "used his office to advance his own radical ideological agenda, not protect Virginians."
Jones was first elected to represent the 89th District in 2017. In 2021, he ran an unsuccessful primary against then-Attorney General Mark Herring. Herring later lost the general election to Republican Jason Miyares, in a year when Republicans took control of both the House of Delegates and Virginia's top three statewide positions.
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor (D)
Shannon Taylor has served as Henrico County's top prosecutor since 2012.
In a news release sent to 13News Now, Taylor's campaign touted her work in protecting abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and her prosecution of a Ku Klux Klan leader who drove into a protest in 2020.
RELATED: Shannon Taylor, Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney, enters 2025 Virginia attorney general race
Taylor was the first to announce her candidacy, back in June of 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
