Virginia's GOP ticket for Election Day 2025 makes history

The big picture: Richmond conservative talk show host John Reid secured the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor Monday after the only other candidate dropped out.

• Reid was facing Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity for the lieutenant governor nomination. Herrity withdrew Monday, citing complications from a recent heart surgery, per the Washington Post.
• Reid is the Commonwealth's first openly gay nominee for statewide office of any party.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the first Black woman in Virginia to hold statewide office, secured the GOP bid for governor earlier this month.

• Jason Miyares, Virginia's first Latino attorney general, is running for reelection unopposed by his party.

Zoom in: With former Rep. Abigail Spanberger leading the Democratic ticket, Virginia was already poised to elect its first female governor, but the rest of the Democratic ballot is still up in the air.

• Six candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, as are two candidates for attorney general.
• In the party AG race, Jay Jones, a former state delegate out of Norfolk, is running for the nomination for a second time and faces Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor.

Seeking the Lt. Governor Democratic nomination are:

• Alex Bastani, a NoVa-based labor leader; State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who represents Chesterfield; NoVa eye surgeon Babur Lateef; State Sen. Aaron Rouse, who represents Virginia Beach; Arlington attorney Victor Salgado; and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

Zoom out: All eyes are on Virginia and its off-year elections, which are considered an early national political test ahead of the 2026 midterms.

What's next: Virginia's Democratic primary is on June 17.

• Early voting starts May 2.