Table of Contents
Icon Key
U.S. Senate
U.S. House
Governor
Statewide Executive
State Legislative
Historic
Toplines
- Current Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) and former U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D) are nominees in an all-woman gubernatorial contest in Virginia this year.
- Either would both be the first woman governor of Virginia.
- Earle-Sears, if successful, would be the first Black woman governor in American history.
- Virginia is one of 18 states that has never had a woman governor. The others are California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
- There are two gubernatorial elections in 2025, in New Jersey and Virginia. If women are successful in both states, the number of women governors could reach 14 by January 2026, matching the record high set briefly in January 2025.
- The sole woman candidate for attorney general was unsuccessful, but state Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D) won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. If Hashmi is successful, she could become both the first Democratic woman and first Asian American/Pacific Islander woman to serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor.
- Women are 70 of 169 (41.4%) major-party nominees for the House of Delegates in Virginia, including 56 of 99 (56.6%) Democrats and 14 of 70 (20%) Republicans. This is not a record high.
- All 34 (27D, 7R) current women House incumbents are nominees for re-election in November 2025. All ran for re-election and zero lost their bid.
Virginia
3 (2D, 1R)
70 (56D, 14R)
Statewide Elective Executive Office
Women Nominees in 2025: Based on primary election results, women are 3 of 6 (50%) major-party nominees already selected for statewide elective executive office in Virginia.
- Both major-party nominees for governor are women, all but ensuring a woman will be the next Governor of Virginia.
- One (1D) woman candidate – state Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D) – won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.
- One (1D) woman candidate – Shannon Taylor – was unsuccessful in her bid for the Democratic nomination for attorney general.
|
Office |
Woman Nominee |
Party |
Seat Status |
Race/Ethnicity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Governor |
Abigail Spanberger |
D |
Open |
White |
|
Governor |
Winsome Earle-Sears |
R |
Open |
Black |
| Lt. Governor |
Ghazala Hashmi |
D |
Open |
Asian American/Pacific Islander |
Current/Historic Women’s Representation: Women currently hold 1 of 3 (33.3%) statewide elective executive offices in Virginia. Three (1D, 2R) women have served in statewide elective executive offices in Virginia.
Women Candidates in 2025: Four (3D, 1R) women filed as candidates for statewide elective executive office in Virginia in 2025. This falls short of the record high (5), set in election 2021. . They were 4 of 12 (33.3%) total major-party candidates for statewide elective executive office in 2025.
Milestones to Watch in 2025:
- No Black woman has served as governor in the United States.
- No woman has served as governor of Virginia.
- No Asian American/Pacific Islander woman has served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
- No Democratic woman has served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
State Senate
There are no state senate seats up for election in Virginia in 2025.
State House
Women Nominees in 2025: Based on primary election results, women are 70 of 169 (41.4%) major-party nominees for the House of Delegates in Virginia, including 56 of 99 (56.6%) Democrats and 14 of 70 (20%) Republicans.
- 34 (27D, 7R) women incumbents are nominees for re-election.
- 32 (26D, 6R) women have won nominations to challenge incumbents in November.
- 4 (3D, 1R) women have won nominations for open-seat state House contests.
This falls short of the record high for women state House nominees (72), set in election 2021. In 2025, 9 (3D, 6R) women candidates for state House were unsuccessful.
Current/Historic Women’s Representation: Women currently hold 34 (27D, 7R) of 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Women Candidates in 2025: Based on publicly-reported information, 79 (59D, 20R) women filed as candidates for state House in 2025. They were 79 of 189 (41.8%) total major-party candidates for state House in 2025. All House seats are up for election this year. Candidate numbers may vary due to the Virginia filing process.
For full information about women in the 2025 elections, including candidate lists, summaries, and historical comparisons, see CAWP’s Election Watch.