How two high-profile Democrats are on track to battle for key seat in big primary fight

Two prominent Democrats have announced they’ll run for governor of Virginia in 2025, a state vulnerable to a Democratic takeover after Republicans failed to secure the state’s House and Senate under Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) in the 2023 election.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced his intention to run for governor in 2025 on Monday, promising to focus on the middle working class in the commonwealth. Stoney has been serving as the mayor of Richmond since 2016, and, if elected, he would be the first black governor in Virginia in over three decades.

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Stoney filed his statement of organization last week showing his intention to run. In a video announcing his campaign, Stoney called out the current GOP governor for worrying more “about his own agenda” than the voters.

“Right now, families across Virginia are struggling just like mine did. Kids aren’t getting the education they deserve just because they live in the wrong zip code,” Stoney said. “And we’ve got a governor who is more worried about his own agenda than yours, and more focused on taking away people’s rights than lifting them up. Banning abortion, banning books, making it harder to vote. He’s working on an extreme agenda that doesn’t represent who we are.”

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Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), a former CIA officer, announced in mid-November she won’t be seeking reelection next year and will be vying for the governorship instead. If elected, she would become the first woman to serve as governor in the state.

In 2021, Youngkin won the race for governor in Virginia, flipping the office red and defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who held the seat since 2014. Youngkin’s victory marked the first time since the 1970s that a first-term governor was denied reelection. Virginia voters rejected Youngkin’s hopes of a Republican takeover in the 2023 elections, defending their Democratic state Senate majority and flipping control of the House. Speculation that he might jump in the race for president could pose as a vulnerability for Republicans in Virginia.