One of the most dramatic results in Virginia’s 2025 general election is that of Stafford County, Virginia, which voted Republican in every gubernatorial race since the turn of the century, but then this year supported Democrats Abigail Spanberger, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, and Attorney General Jay Jones.
WTOP spoke with Stafford residents — some who had lived there since the 1950s — about the issues that brought them to the polls this year.
Stafford County, with an increasingly diverse population of 165,428, according to a 2023 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau, is one of the faster-growing counties in the commonwealth. According to data from the Census Bureau, and analysis by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, Stafford ranks 10th with a 9.03% growth.
Just over 40 miles south of D.C., Stafford is part of the expanding exurban belt, attracting commuters and federal workers.
About 40 years ago, a man who grew up in Alexandria said, “I decided to get married and raise a family, and I came down here.”
He said he could “afford a home,” in Stafford, “In Alexandria, I was priced out, it was all built up,” he told WTOP.
Even more recently, “Stafford was a small town,” said another man, who moved to Stafford in 1995. “Property values were pretty good, compared to Northern Virginia.”
Fresh out of the U.S. Navy in 1957, Charles Cooper moved to the area.
“When I first came here, your neighbor was way down the street,” he recalled. “When I grew up, we had a two-bedroom house, one bath — now people’s expectations have grown.”
Incomes of Stafford residents have also grown. According to Census Bureau data and Weldon Cooper Center analysis, Stafford is now the sixth-wealthiest county in the Commonwealth, with a median household income of $134,619.
“I’ve seen a lot of change, with a lot more houses going up,” said a woman who moved to Stafford 20 years ago. “Now the infrastructure is trying to catch up with the housing.”
With an influx of new residents with more money, and higher levels of education, who are buying larger homes, “this is the next Fairfax, right here,” said the man who moved to Stafford four decades ago for its affordability.
“Stafford used to be a sleepy hollow. You used to come here and be able to buy an acre of land, and build a house, and watch your family grow up — now, you can buy a townhouse,” he mused.
The trade-off of being able to buy a larger home, in exchange for a longer commute, isn’t new.
“That’s part of living in Northern Virginia,” said another man, as he completed an errand at the Stafford County government center, located on U.S. Route 1.
“Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Woodbridge, they all fill up,” he said. “People have got to go somewhere, and everybody wants a little bit better quality of life.”
Other issues that brought voters to the polls?
“The congestion on (Interstate) 95 is unbearable,” said the woman who had lived in the area for two decades. Also important to her are “health care and benefits for those who can’t afford it.”
The issue of community services has been close to the heart of Charles Cooper for decades.
“Just down the street, we have the Charles A. Cooper building, named after me,” he said, modestly. “I was the first chairman of the Community Services Board, representing Stafford and the four surrounding counties around Fredericksburg, in 1970,” referring to the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board.
In Stafford County’s 2040 Strategic Plan, which offers a long-term vision for the county’s growth and development, the county has Targeted Growth Areas, while preserving natural and historic resources, open space, and farmland to maintain the county’s rural character.
The plan also seeks to widen the county’s multimodal transportation as it grows, to deal with congestion on Interstate 95 and Route 1. Stafford County has two Virginia Railway Express stations: Brooke Station and Leeland Road Station.
In addition, the county is working toward developing walkable urban experiences, arts and cultural amenities, as part of its growth.
“We have new hospitals, it does bring some benefits,” said the man who viewed Stafford as a small town when he moved here 20 years ago. “I think life will always be comfortable here, but there’s just going to be more people.”
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