Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Virginia Races to Watch on Election Day

Polls at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County in June 2023. (Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury)

RICHMOND — While all 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly are on the ballot Nov. 7, not all are closely contested or even contested at all. Roughly one-third of the House of Delegates’ races and five Senate races have only one candidate vying for election, while numerous others have two or more but represent an electorate that leans strongly Republican or strongly Democratic.

With two closely divided chambers — the Senate has 22 Democrats and 18 Republicans, while the House has 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats — control of both will come down to the outcome of a dozen or so races. This fall, the Virginia Mercury profiled 10 of those key races and the issues at play in each. Here are some of the major contests to watch:

Northern Virginia

Senate District 31 race: Republican Juan Pablo Segura vs. Democrat Russet Perry
House District 21 race: Republican Stirrup vs. Democrat Thomas

Fredericksburg 

Senate District 27 race: Republican Durant vs. Democrat Griffin vs. Independent Gary
House District 65 race: Democrat Cole vs. Republican Peters

Richmond/Petersburg

Senate District 16 race: Democrat VanValkenburg vs. Republican incumbent Dunnavant
House District 58 race: Republican Shaia vs. incumbent Democrat Willett
House District 82 race: Democrat Adams vs. Republican incumbent Taylor

Hampton Roads/Southside

Senate District 17 race: Democrat Jenkins vs. Republican Brewer
Senate District 24 race: Republican Diggs vs. incumbent Democrat Mason
House District 97: Democrat Feggans vs. incumbent Republican Greenhalgh

Other important races: 

House District 22: Nembhard vs. Lovejoy (Northern Virginia)
House District 57: Gibson vs. Owen (Richmond)
House District 84: Clark vs. Dillender (Hampton Roads)
House District 89: Jenkins vs. Ennis (Hampton Roads)
Senate District 4: Suetterlein vs. White-Boyd (Roanoke)
Senate District 30: Roem vs. Woolf (Northern Virginia)

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sarah Vogelsong for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.

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