Virginia’s major party primary elections will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Off on a Tangent makes recommendations to primary voters in state- and federal-level races in Virginia and local elections in Loudoun County whenever nominees will be chosen through a contested public primary.
Political parties are private organizations that should have no formal standing in our political system. As private organizations, they are free to choose their nominees through whichever process they wish—common methods include conventions, caucuses, private “firehouse primaries,” and direct nomination by party leaders. But in Virginia and many other states, the Democratic and Republican party duopoly has given itself permission to hold public primaries at the taxpayers’ expense.
Public primaries in Virginia are “open.” Any registered voter may vote in any single party primary held on a given day, regardless of whether they are an actual member of that party.
Overview
Contested public primaries are being held by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Democrats are holding primaries for two statewide offices and nine seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. Republicans are holding primaries for eight seats in the Virginia House of Delegates.
There are three statewide offices: Governor of Virginia, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and Attorney General of Virginia. Each serves four-year terms with no term limits, but governors may not serve multiple consecutive terms. Currently, the Republican Party holds all three offices.
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. There are one hundred delegates who serve two-year terms with no term limits. Currently, the Democratic Party holds a 51-49 majority.
Democratic Party Primaries
The Democratic Party of Virginia is holding contested public primaries for two statewide offices and nine seats in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Virginia Statewide Offices
- Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Alex Bastani (D), Virginia Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-15th), Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef (I), Virginia Senator Aaron Rouse (D-22nd), Victor Salgado (D), and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D) stand as candidates for an open seat. I make no recommendation.
- Attorney General of Virginia: Former Virginia Delegate Jay Jones (D-89th) and Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor (D) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R). I recommend voting for Jay Jones.
Virginia House of Delegates
- 1st District: Incumbent Virginia Delegate Patrick Hope (D-1st) is challenged by Sean Epstein (D) and Arjoon Srikanth (D). I recommend voting for Sean Epstein.
- 40th District: Donna Littlepage (D) and Kiesha Preston (D) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate Joe McNamara (R-40th). I recommend voting for Donna Littlepage.
- 49th District: Jasmine Lipscomb (D) and Danville City Council Member Gary Miller (D) stand as candidates for an open seat. I recommend voting for Gary Miller.
- 57th District: May Nivar (D) and Andrew Schear (D) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate David Owen (R-57th). I recommend voting for Andrew Schear.
- 72nd District: Randolph Critzer (D) and Bilal Raychouni (D) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate Lee Ware (R-72nd). I recommend voting for Randolph Critzer.
- 73rd District: Leslie Mehta (D) and Justin Woodford (D) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate Mark Earley Jr. (R-73rd). I recommend voting for Leslie Mehta.
- 75th District: Lindsey Dougherty (D), Stephen MillerPitts (D), and Dustin Wade (D) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate Carrie Coyner (R-75th). I make no recommendation.
- 81st District: Incumbent Virginia Delegate Delores McQuinn (D-81st) is challenged by Henrico County School Board Member Alicia Atkins (I-Varina). I recommend voting for Alicia Atkins.
- 89th District: Blaizen Bloom (D) and Karen Robins Carnegie (D) stand as candidates for an open seat. I recommend voting for Blaizen Bloom.
Republican Party Primaries
The Republican Party of Virginia is holding contested public primaries for eight seats in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Virginia House of Delegates
- 21st District: Gregory Gorham (R), Xanthe Larsen (R), and Sahar Smith (R) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate Joshua Thomas (D-21st). I recommend voting for Sahar Smith.
- 37th District: Incumbent Virginia Delegate Terry Austin (R-37th) is challenged by Austen Schwend. I recommend voting for Austen Schwend.
- 46th District: Mitchell Cornett (R) and Adam Tolbert (R) stand as candidates for an open seat. I recommend voting for Mitchell Cornett.
- 49th District: Vanessa Reynolds Scearce (R) and Danville City Council Member Madison Whittle (R) stand as candidates for an open seat. I make no recommendation.
- 62nd District: Karen Hamilton (R) and Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman Clay Jackson (R) stand as candidates for an open seat. I recommend voting for Karen Hamilton.
- 70th District: Hailey Dollar (R) and Cynthia Scaturico (R) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate Shelly Simonds (D-70th). I recommend voting for Cynthia Scaturico.
- 89th District: Chesapeake School Board Member Mike Lamonea (I-At Large) and Kristen Shannon (R) stand as candidates for an open seat. I recommend voting for Kristen Shannon.
- 97th District: Former Virginia Delegate Tim Anderson (R-83rd) and Christina Felder (R) stand as candidates to challenge incumbent Virginia Delegate Michael Feggans (D-97th). I recommend voting for Tim Anderson.