Virginia’s 2025 House of Delegates election could decide the fate of three proposed constitutional amendments. One would remove a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, one would create a constitutional right to reproductive freedom, and one would allow persons convicted of felonies to vote following their release from incarceration. The constitutional amendment process in Virginia requires…
All 18 state legislative incumbents who do not have general election challengers this November are Democrats. There are 168 incumbents running for re-election. That means 10.7% of the state legislative incumbents running this year in New Jersey and Virginia are guaranteed re-election. Ballotpedia uses the number and percentage of incumbents in uncontested general elections to…
Democrats are running for every state legislative seat up for election in 2025, and Republicans are running for 88% of them. That means 12% of seats this year are guaranteed to Democrats due to a lack of Republican competition in those races, and none are guaranteed to Republicans due to a lack of Democratic competition.…
Thirty-eight state legislative incumbents faced contested primaries in 2025, representing 22% of all incumbents who filed for re-election. While that was two fewer than the 40 contested incumbents in 2021, it was larger by percentage than each of the three previous odd-year cycles following presidential elections. Twelve percent were contested in 2013, 16% in 2017,…
There are eight open seats in this year’s state legislative elections, four percent of all 180 seats up for election. That is the lowest by percentage of any odd-year cycle since 2011. An open seat is where no incumbent filed to run, meaning it is guaranteed to be won by a newcomer. Ballotpedia uses the…
Ghazala Hashmi (D) and John Reid (R) are running in the general election for lieutenant governor of Virginia on Nov. 4, 2025. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) is running for governor of Virginia instead of re-election. WAMU’s Margaret Barthel wrote, “Virginia’s lieutenant governor has few official powers. The role presides over the state senate…
There were 46 contested state legislative primaries in 2025. That was 16% of the 280 possible primaries between the New Jersey General Assembly and the Virginia House of Delegates, the only two state legislative chambers with elections this year. The total number of contested primaries in 2025—46—was two more and a 5% increase from 2021.…
Abigail Spanberger (D) and Winsome Earle-Sears (R) are running in the general election for Governor of Virginia on Nov. 4, 2025. Incumbent Glenn Youngkin (R) is term-limited. As one of only two gubernatorial elections– the other being in New Jersey— that take place in the odd year following a presidential election, media outlets and political…
Incumbent Jason Miyares (R) and Jerrauld Jones (D) are running in the general election for attorney general of Virginia on Nov. 4, 2025. According to AP’s Olivia Diaz, Virginia’s odd-year elections are “seen as referendums on the party in power before Congress heads into midterm elections. … Democrats’ hold on Virginia has slipped in recent…
No incumbents were defeated in the Virginia House of Delegates primary elections on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Three incumbents ran in contested primaries, 3.1% of the 96 incumbents running for re-election. This is the third time the chamber’s primaries have produced no incumbent defeats since 2011. The first was 2011, and the second was 2017.…