A guide to the Democratic Primary
Early voting is underway for the Democratic Primary. The Primary is June 17.
Voters will select candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general.
The Democratic candidate for governor, Abigail Spanberger, doesn’t have a primary opponent. She will face Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor, in the General Election on Nov. 4.
Early voting is currently underway at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday.
Satellite voting locations, including the Mason Government Center and Thomas Jefferson Library, open on June 7.
The deadline to register to vote in the Democratic Primary or update your address is May 17. The last day to apply for a mail-in absentee ballot is June 6. The last day to vote early in person is June 14.
Lieutenant governor
The following six candidates for lieutenant governor are on the Democratic Primary ballot:
Alex Bastani – Attorney; former president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 12.
Key issues:
- Support employee rights by raising the minimum wage and implementing collective bargaining rights for state and municipal workers.
- Fund student debt relief, for trade schools as well as colleges, by making the military-industrial complex pay their fair share.
- Guarantee jobs for veterans.
- Give working-class Virginians a voice in how the state is run.
Residence: Falls Church.
Funds raised: $134,000.*
Ghazala Hashmi – Member of the Virginia Senate since 2020, representing the 10th District (Hanover, Powhatan, Goochland, and Fluvanna counties); chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee; former professor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.
Key issues:
- Provide access to affordable health care to all, including safe and legal abortion, contraception, and low-cost prescription drugs.
- Prevent gun violence by strengthening background checks and red flag laws and banning assault weapons.
- Fight hatred and bigotry against people based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and immigration status.
- Expand access to affordable, high-quality childcare.
- Fully fund education and increase support for educators and vulnerable students, including students with disabilities and English language learners.
- Support programs and policies that address the effects of human-caused climate change.
- Expand access to affordable housing and expand tenants’ rights.
Endorsements: Emily’s List, Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, Virginia Sen. Saddam Salim, Del. Irene Shin, Del. Kathy Tran, and many more state and local officials.
Residence: Richmond.
Funds raised: $1.1 million.
Babur Lateef – Vice chair and former chair of the Prince William County School Board; former chair of the University of Virginia Health System Board; ophthalmologist.
Key issues:
- Oppose the expansion of casino gambling in Virginia; oppose the casino proposed for Tysons.
- Change Virginia’s unemployment insurance program to cover all federal workers cut by the Trump administration.
- Increase funding for public schools.
- Repeal Virginia’s “so-called Right to Work law.”
- Use the car tax to fully fund public schools or repeal it.
- Support a constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive healthcare for all Virginians.
- Provide incentives for homeownership.
Endorsements: Del. Luke Torian, chairman of the Virginia House Appropriations Committee; Prince William County School Board member Lisa Zargarpur.
Residence: Woodbridge
Funds raised: $970,000.
Aaron Rouse – State senator since 2023 representing the 22nd District, which includes most of Virginia Beach; former member of the Virginia Beach City Council; former professional football player, including a stint on the Green Bay Packers.
Key issues:
- Build a more affordable economy with tax cuts for the middle class, first-time homebuyer grants, and a child tax credit.
- Protect Medicaid and Medicare.
- Improve access to affordable healthcare by lowering prescription drug costs.
- Protect federal workers during times of crisis by shielding them from eviction and foreclosure.
- Protect reproductive freedom.
- Support commonsense gun laws.
Residence: Virginia Beach.
Endorsements: Former U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria; Virginia Senate President L. Louise Lucas; state Sen. Dave Marsden; former Senate Democratic Leader Dick Saslaw; Fairfax County supervisors Rodney Lusk (Franconia), Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill), and Karl Frisch (Providence); and many other state and local officials.
Residence: Virginia Beach.
Funds raised: $1.2 million.
Victor Salgado – Former federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice and senior litigation counsel at DOJ’s Public Integrity Section; former prosecutor with the Corruption Bureau at the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.
Key issues:
- Reform campaign financing.
- Protect reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy.
- Defend and expand access to education, including special education and early childhood programs.
- Support a just immigration system.
- Foster entrepreneurship and reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses.
- End wage theft and exploitation of workers.
- Invest in clean energy.
- Ban assault weapons and ghost guns.
- Strengthen democracy by supporting fair, accessible elections.
Residence: Arlington.
Funds raised: $204,000.
Levar Stoney – Mayor of Richmond (2017-25); former secretary of the commonwealth (2014-16).
Key issues:
- Make Virginia the best state for businesses to grow and create jobs and the best state for workers.
- Fully fund public schools and early childhood education.
- Increase access to affordable housing, increase pathways to home ownership and ensure residents are not displaced by rising costs.
- Protect reproductive freedom and protect everyone’s right to make their own healthcare decisions.
Endorsements: Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate; Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe; Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano; Del. Laura Jane Cohen, Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins; and many other state legislators and local officials.
Residence: Richmond.
Funds raised: $1.4 million.
On the Republican side, the controversy over the lone Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, John Reid, is dividing the party. Reid, an openly gay Trump supporter, is refusing to step down after Glenn Youngkin asked him to withdraw after sexually explicit photos were found on a social media account he maintained.
Related story: Youngkin asks lieutenant governor candidate to withdraw
Attorney general
Two candidates – Jay Jones and Shannon Taylor – are running in the Democratic Primary for attorney general. The winner will face Republican candidate Jason Miyares, who’s running for re-election.
Jay Jones – Member of the Virginia House of Delegates (2018-21), representing the 89th District (Chesapeake City, Suffolk City); former assistant attorney general for the District of Columbia.
Key issues:
- Stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s dangerous agenda.
- Protect Virginians from crime and violence, corporate price gouging, and extremists.
Endorsements: Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe; former Gov. Ralph Northam; U.S. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam; U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman; Virginia Sen. Barbara Favola; Virginia Sen. Stella Pekarsky; Delegates David Bulova, Holly Seibold, Marcus Simon; Fairfax County supervisors Andres Jimenez (Mason); Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill), Jimmy Bierman (Dranesville); and many more state and local officials.
Residence: Norfolk.
Funds raised: $1.8 million.
Related story: Attorney general candidate Jay Jones vows to protect Virginians
Shannon Taylor – Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney since 2011. Former prosecutor at the federal, state, and local levels.
Key issues:
- Protect reproductive rights.
- Advocate for stronger hate crime laws.
- Support commonsense gun legislation.
- Ensure consumer protections, especially for vulnerable seniors.
Endorsements: Emily’s List; Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate; State Sen. Dave Marsden; former Virginia Senate Democratic Leader Dick Saslaw; Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid; Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins; and a long list of other state and local officials.
Residence: Richmond.
Funds raised: $1 million.
* Reported by the Virginia Public Access Project as of March 31.
