Incumbent Departures and Declining Nominees in Virginia Heading into November

Primary elections were held yesterday in Virginia, and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, is tracking results for women candidates in these races. In 2023, more than twenty percent of women incumbents in the Virginia legislature did not seek re-election. While women set a new record for Senate nominations this year, they fell well short of the record for nominees for House of Delegates seats. Full results are available on the Election Analysis page on the CAWP website; five races featuring women candidates remain too close to call, so this post will update as results are finalized. Complete context about women in the 2023 elections, including candidate lists, summaries, and historical comparisons, is available via CAWP's Election Watch.

Among the most notable results for women:

• Women are 27 of 72 (37.5%) major-party nominees for state Senate in Virginia, including 22 of 38 (57.9%) Democrats and 5 of 34 (14.7%) Republicans. In addition, three (1D, 2R) women candidates remain in two contests that are too close to call. This exceeds the record high for women state Senate nominees (23), set in election 2019. It also exceeds the record high for Democratic women state Senate nominees (17), set in 2019.
• Women are 56 of 157 (35.7%) major-party nominees for the House of Delegates in Virginia, including 45 of 90 (50%) Democrats and 11 of 67 (16.4%) Republicans. In addition, six (6D) women candidates remain in three contests that are too close to call. This will not be a record high; 72 women won major-party nominations for the Virginia House in 2021.
• These nominee numbers include 28 (21D, 7R) – of 47 (32D, 15R) – current women state legislators who are nominees for re-election, and another 4 (2D, 2R) current women House members who are nominees for the state Senate in November 2023. Two (2D) women incumbents remain in contests too close to call.
  • Ten women incumbents – representing 21.3% of the current women legislators – did not run for re-election.
  • Including the primary election results, at least 3 (1D, 2R) more women incumbents will not return to the legislature in 2024: state Senator Amanda Chase (R) and state Delegate Marie March (R) lost their bids for re-election, and state Delegate Sally Hudson (D) lost a bid for the state Senate. March was defeated by another incumbent in an incumbent v. incumbent primary contest following redistricting.

For more information, see the full analysis of how women fared in yesterday's contests on our Election Analysis page. Complete context about women in the 2023 elections can be found on CAWP's Election Watch.