Rockingham County

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Republican incumbent Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and former Democratic US Representative Abigail Spanberger will face each other in the general election for Governor of Virginia.

The Democratic nominee for Governor, Abigail Spanberger actually fights to expand healthcare and reproductive freedom instead of rolling over when conservatives threaten to restrict abortion rights. She’s committed to investing in clean energy, holding polluters accountable, and reducing energy costs for working families. Her gun-safety agenda goes far beyond “thoughts and prayers,” taking on the NRA head-on instead of cashing their donation checks. Spanberger’s pragmatic progressive vision gives suburban moderates and left-leaners tired of corporate centrism and culture-war theatrics a real reason to show up.

The Opposition

The Republican nominee for Governor, Winsome Earle-Sears is all about slashing taxes for big corporations while telling unemployed workers that losing a job is “no big deal.” She grandstands against critical race theory and “woke” classrooms to score culture-war points instead of tackling real education challenges. By waving her Marine Corps credentials, she sells herself as the ultimate tough-on-crime candidate, conveniently ignoring how lax gun laws endanger communities. Her true believers are MAGA zealots who think banning books, rolling back reproductive freedoms, and erasing civil liberties are more important than looking out for working families.

Recommendation

Due to her advocacy for abortion access, gun violence prevention, and clean energy, Abigail Spanberger is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Democratic Virginia State Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Republican John Reid will face each other in the general election for Lt. Governor of Virginia.

The Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, Ghazala Hashmi is fighting to pump real money into public schools instead of the right’s perennial budget cuts and culture-war book bans. She defends reproductive freedom and Medicaid expansion for working families while conservatives keep dialing back healthcare access and waving anti-abortion placards. Her clean-energy agenda and environmental-justice bills actually target polluters, not the customary GOP handouts to pipeline lobbyists. Dreamers, suburban progressives fed up with partisan hijinks, and anyone who’d trade culture-war theatrics for equity and opportunity will cheer her unapologetic stand for Virginia’s working families.

The Opposition

The Republican nominee for Lt. Governor, John Reid is a self-styled small-government crusader who’ll happily cut taxes for wealthy donors while pretending he’s doing the same for working Virginians. He rails against “woke” curriculum and critical race theory, because apparently teaching actual American history is more offensive to him than runaway inequality. He touts law-and-order credentials and celebrity as a conservative radio host, hawking gun rights like they’re the ultimate public-safety strategy. He even plans to torpedo constitutional protections for same-sex marriage, proving that an openly gay candidate will stab his own community in the back for party unity, the perfect pick for culture-war diehards who prefer corporate giveaways to real solutions for working families.

Recommendation

Due to her advocacy for public education, abortion access, and environmental justice, Ghazala Hashmi is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares faces a challenge from former Democratic Virginia State Delegate Jay Jones.

The Democratic nominee for Attorney General, Jay Jones has pledged to sue the Trump administration every time it infringes on the rights of Virginians. He’s secured victories for abortion access, expanded Medicaid to cover thousands more Virginians, and even wrote anti-price-gouging measures to keep corporate vultures in check. His public-safety plan pairs smart gun-violence prevention and community-based crime interventions rather than recycling the right’s tired “lock ’em up” mantra for political ads. Grassroots progressives, consumer-rights advocates, and anyone sick of endless culture-war stunts will line up behind a candidate who actually puts families over fear-mongering theatrics.

The Opposition

Incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares cozies up to ICE, shaming local authorities who don’t cooperate with Trump’s policies of mass deportation, because terrorizing immigrant families is apparently his idea of due process. He grandstands on opioid crackdowns but turns a blind eye to corporate-friendly loopholes that keep the drug pipeline flowing. He bills himself as a federalism champion when suing Washington over environmental rules, conveniently ignoring states’ rights whenever big donors flash a check. His true believers are tough-on-crime zealots who think more ICE raids, harsher sentencing, and tax cuts for the wealthy are the pinnacle of compassionate governance.

Recommendation

Due to his advocacy for abortion access, gun violence prevention, and Medicaid coverage, Jay Jones is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Republican Delegate Todd Gilbert has withdrawn from his reelection bid in HD-33. Democrat Catherine Rec and Republican Justin Pence will face each other in HD-33.

Virginia’s House District 33 spans all of Shenandoah County, all of Page County, and portions of Rockingham and Warren counties in Virginia’s northern Shenandoah Valley. In the 2024 election it remained a strong Republican district by comfortable double-digit margins.

Catherine Rec is a technician, business owner, and grandmother from Quicksburg. Raised in a union household, she champions collective bargaining rights, workplace safety, and fair wages. Her platform centers on rural revitalization efforts, like bringing a Shenandoah County community college satellite campus, upgrading water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, and linking job training to local economic development. Rec’s pledge for congressional term limits and her outsider, kitchen-table approach highlight her commitment to accountable, community-driven governance.

Catherine Rec champions empowering workers through collective bargaining. She supports upgrading water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as building a satellite community college campus. She has pledged to support congressional term limits.

The Opposition

- Republican Justine Pence is a member of the Chambers of Commerce in several counties. He is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and is committed to defending 2nd Amendment rights. Justin Pence advocates for parents having more say in education and takes an anti-LGBTQ stance on school sports. He believes renewable energy will stifle the economy.
- Republican House of Delegates Minority Leader Todd Gilbert has resigned to take an appointment as US Attorney.

Recommendation

Because of her support for rural development and for collective bargaining rights for Virginia workers, Catherine Rec is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Republican Delegate Tony Wilt faces a challenge from Democrat Andrew Payton in HD-34.

Virginia’s House District 34 covers the heart of the central Shenandoah Valley, encompassing part of Rockingham County and the independent City of Harrisonburg. In the 2024 election it leaned Republican by single-digit margins.

Democrat Andrew Payton is a Learning Designer and community organizer. He has chaired the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley, the City of Harrisonburg’s Environmental Performance Standards Committee. Payton currently serves on the executive committee of Renew Rocktown. He studied film and electronic media at Towson University before earning an M.F.A. in creative writing from Iowa State University. Payton was a Fulbright scholar in Slovakia. He lives in Harrisonburg with his wife and two children. 

Andrew Payton has pledged to defend and expand Medicaid and other public-health programs for the nearly 30,000 local residents who rely on them.

He would champion legislation to protect tenants and address barriers to affordable housing. 

He advocates for the right to collective bargaining, protections from workplace discrimination, and ensuring paid family and medical leave and paid sick days for all workers.

He supports taxing big business and the wealthy few to support programs like universal pre-K, free community college, fully funded public schools, and increased teacher pay.

He endorses the Virginia Clean Economy Act and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which aims to reduce the energy burden on low-income homes and prepare us for natural disasters like floods.

The Opposition

Incumbent Republican Delegate Tony Wilt has served as a in the House of Delegates since 2010. He defends so-called right-to-work laws that make it harder to join a union, opposes efforts to reduce vehicle emissions, and votes against gun violence prevention efforts. Wilt opposes new taxes and expansions of reproductive rights. Progressive voters may balk at his anti-union stance, resistance to clean-energy action, reluctance to invest in public schools or Medicaid expansion, and refusal to expand reproductive freedoms.

Recommendation

Based on his support for expanding healthcare access, funding public education, and protecting the environment, Andrew Payton is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Republican Delegate Chris Runion faces a challenge from Democrat Jena Crisler in HD-35.

Virginia’s House District 35 spans parts of Augusta and Rockingham counties as well as all of Bath and Highland counties in Virginia’s western Shenandoah Valley. In the 2024 election it was a strong Republican district by comfortable double‐digit margins.

Democrat Jena Crisler grew up in Prince George's County Maryland. She holds a B.A. in anthropology and economics from the University of Virginia. Crisler graduated as a physician from Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine. She did her residency at Johns Hopkins.

Jena Crisler has pledged to enshrine the right to abortion access and reproductive freedom in the Virginia Constitution.

She supports repealing the so-called right-to-work, which would empower workers to collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions as part of a union. She would target corporate polluters to preserve the cleanliness of Virginia’s air, water, and soil.

The Opposition

Incumbent Republican Delegate Chris Runion is a Shenandoah Valley native and accountant who ran a poultry business and led the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce. Elected in 2019, he advocates for tax cuts and deregulation for businesses. He supports increased funding for law enforcement and opposes gun violence prevention measures.

Delegate Runion voted against HJ 1, protecting reproductive freedom, HJ 2, automatically restoring voting rights to people upon release from incarceration, and HJ 9, repealing the Commonwealth’s defunct same-sex marriage ban and guaranteeing marriage equality for LGBTQ+ Virginians. He is against abortion rights, efforts to protect the climate, Medicaid expansion, and labor rights—all stances that conflict with progressive priorities. 

Recommendation

Based on her support for enshrining abortion access and reproductive freedom in Virginia’s Constitution, targeting corporate polluters, and repealing the right-to-work “Right to Work” law, Jena Crisler is the progressive candidate in this race.