From the top down, Virginia’s 2025 elections are packed with contenders

The 2025 election season in Virginia is officially underway — and the landscape is coming into sharp focus after last week’s filing deadline for the June 17 primaries. With the top of the tickets now set and the full list of candidates for the House of Delegates finalized, both parties are preparing for what could be one of the most consequential election years in the commonwealth’s recent history.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears became the Republican nominee for governor by default after former state Sen. Amanda Chase and former Del. Dave LaRock failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the primary ballot.

The GOP now avoids a potentially divisive nomination fight and can direct all of its resources toward the general election, where Earle-Sears will face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee who left Congress in 2024 to run for governor.

Earle-Sears ended 2024 with $2.6 million raised and $2.1 million in cash. Last week, her campaign announced a $3.1 million haul for the first quarter — a figure she achieved despite being unable to raise money for much of the reporting period. As a sitting member of the legislature, Earle-Sears is barred from fundraising during the General Assembly session.

“Our campaign is proudly fueled by hardworking Virginians who want a leader who will cut taxes, defend parental rights, and keep our communities safe,” Earle-Sears said in a statement. “The threat of radical change that would turn our commonwealth in the wrong direction is real and demands we fight back directly and aggressively.”

Two independent candidates, Donna Charles and Andrew White, have also filed to run for governor. No campaign finance disclosures have been filed for either.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said the absence of a gubernatorial primary gives both major candidates a strategic edge heading into November.

“This is the best case scenario for both of the candidates,” Farnsworth said. He noted that primaries often force contenders to cater to their party’s ideological base — sometimes at the expense of their appeal in a general election.

“If you go through the primary process, you will have to say a number of things to win over the ideological extremists who vote in primaries, and the things that you say in the spring can come back to haunt you in November,” he explained. “And now they don’t have to deal with it.”

For Republicans especially, Farnsworth added, the early clarity in the race is a rare bright spot.

“With no primary, you can focus on the general election,” he said. “It’s a rare bit of good news for Republicans, who have a lot of headwinds coming out of Washington going into this election.”

Crowded fields down-ballot

The lieutenant governor’s race has drawn large and diverse fields on both sides. Three Republicans are seeking the nomination: U.S. Navy veteran John Curran, Pat Herrity — the last remaining Republican on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors — and conservative radio host John Reid.

In the race for attorney general, Republican incumbent Jason Miyares is seeking a second term. Miyares, who made history in 2021 as the first Latino elected to statewide office in Virginia, is running unopposed in the GOP primary.

Two Democrats are competing for the nomination to challenge him in November. Former state Del. Jay Jones of Norfolk, who previously ran for attorney general in 2021 but lost the primary to then-incumbent Mark Herring, is back for another attempt. Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor, a veteran local prosecutor, is also seeking the Democratic nod.

House races take shape

In the House of Delegates, all 100 seats are on the ballot this year. Democrats are fielding 114 candidates in 96 districts, while Republicans are running 76 candidates in 66 districts. Democrats have primaries in 14 districts, and Republicans have primary contests in 10.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) on Monday announced a seven-figure investment in the campaigns of four incumbents in what they view as winnable districts — Dels. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William, Josh Cole, D-Fredericksburg, Nadarius Clark, D-Suffolk, and Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach. Each won their 2023 races by 3 to 6 percentage points.

DLCC pours money into Virginia races, citing ‘All eyes on 2025′

“The DLCC’s investment is a clear signal that the eyes of the nation are on Virginia — and for good reason,” said Amber Gantt, a spokeswoman for the Virginia House Democratic Caucus. “Our frontline delegates flipped some of the toughest districts in the state, and they’re already delivering real results for Virginians.”

The margin for control of the House couldn’t have been tighter in 2023, when just 975 votes statewide ultimately determined which party held the majority. That razor-thin outcome is a vivid reminder of how every district, and every ballot cast, could prove decisive in 2025.

Farnsworth, the political scientist, said that this year’s political landscape carries echoes of 2017, when Democratic enthusiasm surged in response to Donald Trump’s first presidency — a dynamic that appears to be resurfacing after Trump’s return to the White House.

“In a lot of ways this does look sort of like eight years ago, where you have a lot of motivated Democrats in part because of the energy within the party, but also because of the frustration with President Trump. Both of these dynamics seem to be present this year.”

Farnsworth cautioned that Republicans could face a turnout challenge if they fail to field candidates in enough down-ballot races — a challenge that hurt Democrats in the past.

“There is a potential problem, though, in a statewide election if you don’t have Republican candidates in a larger number of districts, because you may not be encouraging a Republican turnout,” Farnsworth said.

“The more Republicans there are on the ballot in House of Delegates races, the more likely there’ll be people voting Republican up and down the ballot. That was one of the problems that the Democrats had four years ago were districts that didn’t have a Democratic name on the ballot, and that hurt (Democrat) Terry McAuliffe’s campaign.”

Only one GOP incumbent — Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt — faces a primary challenge this year, from Austen Schwend.

On the Democratic side, several incumbents are being challenged from within their own party.

Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, faces Sean Epstein and Arjoon Srikanth in District 1. In Richmond‘s District 81, Del. Delores McQuinn is up against Alicia Atkins, while in Virginia Beach, Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler is being challenged by Brandon Hutchins in District 96.

Democrats are also making a concerted push into Republican-held territory, with candidates running in 43 GOP-leaning districts this year.

Republicans, by contrast, are challenging Democratic incumbents in only 15 districts. The disparity is part of a broader Democratic strategy aimed at driving turnout — especially in areas that could also benefit Spanberger’s gubernatorial bid.

Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, who chairs the Democratic Party of Virginia, said the stakes in this year’s elections have galvanized Democratic voters — and now the focus is on sustaining that momentum through November by winning back the governor’s mansion and increasing Democrats’ narrow 51-49 majority in the House.

“There’s no question that folks are energized headed into this election cycle, we just need to make sure to keep the energy up,” Bagby said.

Framing the governor’s race as a pivotal moment for Virginia’s future, Bagby described the contrast between the candidates as sharper than anything he’s seen in recent memory.

“We’ve heard it time and time again, but in my lifetime I don’t think there’s ever been a clearer choice between the two candidates for governor,” he said.

With that clarity, he added, comes a responsibility to channel enthusiasm into organizing and outreach — while recognizing that serious challenges remain.

“We are working to make sure we are prepared to move that energy in the right direction,” Bagby said. “At the same time, we understand that there is a lot of work ahead, and some folks are committed to turn back the progress that we made related to health care and protecting families, we’ll just have to run through the tape.”

But Ken Nunnenkamp, executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, downplayed the idea that more Democratic candidates equals more enthusiasm.

“I’m still not seeing an enthusiasm gap here. We’ve got a bunch of really good candidates,” Nunnenkamp said. “And at the end of the day, just because three or four people have filed in a Democratic primary, that doesn’t mean that there is any enthusiasm.”

Democrats seize on enthusiasm gap in 2025 Virginia House races

He also expressed skepticism that a broader Democratic field in rural districts would pay off for Spanberger in November.

“Four years ago, Terry McAuliffe went and worked his tail off trying to get votes in the rural districts, and he couldn’t do it because the Democratic message doesn’t resonate with a lot of people in those areas,” Nunnenkamp said.

“I think (Spanberger) is going to spend as much time and money trying to turn out Democrats in those five districts where no Democrats are running, and I have a feeling just like last year, the Democratic message at the House of Delegates level is the same as it is on the statewide level. I think they’re going to have a horrible time.”

Still, Democrats are making history with their field. Of the 114 Democratic House candidates, 58 are women — including 27 incumbents — and at least seven are veterans. Eight veterans already serve in the chamber. By contrast, just five GOP incumbents are women, and a total of 17 Republican women are running for the House in 2025.

Independent candidates are rare this cycle, appearing in just four House districts. One of the most closely watched is District 50, where former Democrat Trudy Berry is now running as an independent after being denied ballot access last year due to an email error.

Berry is up against Republican Del. Tommy Wright of Lunenburg and Democrat Earnadette Powell Farrar in a three-way contest that includes parts of Mecklenburg, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Prince Edward, and Halifax counties.

Originally written for VirginiaMercury and it originally published as From the top down, Virginia’s 2025 elections are packed with contenders