Stay with WTOP on air, online and on our news app for team coverage, live results and analyses of election night in Virginia. Listen live.
Polls are open in Virginia in an election to decide the state’s next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, House of Delegates and local offices across the commonwealth.
Observers across the nation have their eyes on Tuesday’s election to determine if the results indicate momentum toward one party or the other heading into next year’s midterm elections, which will decide the balance of power in Congress.
Virginia’s race for governor has pitted the current Republican lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, against Democratic former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
There’s plenty of intrigue in the commonwealth’s other statewide races, too. Democrat Ghazala Hashmi and Republican John Reid are vying to be Virginia’s next lieutenant governor in a race that’s shaping up to be the closest of the statewide contests.
And the race that’s grabbed the most headlines in recent weeks is the one for attorney general, after texts sent by Democratic nominee Jay Jones surfaced in which Jones hypothesized about shooting a political rival.
That controversy has opened the door to the possibility of a split administration, as Spanberger is favored in the governor’s race, but the controversy has propelled incumbent Attorney General and Republican Jason Miyares to a lead in many polls to retain his position.
All 100 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates are also on the ballot, though some are not contested. Democrats have a slim 51-48 majority headed into Tuesday, with one current vacancy.
Democrats also carry a majority in the Virginia State Senate; the 40 seats in the upper chamber are on the ballot in 2027.
Before Election Day, hundreds of thousands of Virginians voted early. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, a record number of early ballots were cast for a non-presidential election in Virginia.
What to know about casting a ballot
Polls close at 7 p.m. Anyone in line to vote at that time will still be able to do so.
All voters need to provide an acceptable form of ID, sign an ID confirmation statement at the polls or vote with a provisional ballot. Those who vote a provisional ballot will have until noon on the Friday after the election to deliver a copy of their ID to their jurisdiction’s election board or sign a confirmation statement in order for their ballot to be counted.
A list of acceptable forms of ID is available online.
The deadline to register to vote or to update voter registration has passed. Voters can view what’s on their ballot and find the location of their polling place on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
WTOP will report results live as soon as they start coming in shortly after the polls close.
Voters hit the polls
Katrina, a long time Virginia voter, talked to WTOP at the polls. Her husband is furloughed and she worries about a lot of things right now.
“I would like to see the government do more to make sure everyone has food and medical care and education,” she said. “I’ve been very disturbed by the government shutdown. I’m concerned about my neighbors experiencing food shortages with cuts to the SNAP benefits. I’m also concerned about the long term future of Medicaid.”
Chelsea Lamm went to the polls early Tuesday morning and said helping others in need was top on her mind.
“Just how can we be fair and think about everybody instead of just ourselves and what our own religious beliefs are,” she said.
Voter Matthew Ziegler said he had several big topics on his mind when walking into the voting booth Tuesday.
“The general safety of the population, unnecessary taxes, the car tax, that’s been ridiculous for years to be honest, and other issues of course the economy in mind as well across the entire state,” he said.
Nader Chaaban said taxes were a big issue for him as he stepped up to vote.
“Honestly I wish that they would get rid of the car tax, that’s a killer right there,” Chaaban said. “You pay a property tax, you pay a food tax, you pay for everything and then they come back and they tax you on the car that you’ve already paid taxes on,” he said.
Voting in the historic Virginia governor’s race
Lamm said when it comes to the governor’s race, she’s made up her mind.
“I’m definitely voting Spanberger … especially as we’re seeing the government shutdown and SNAP benefits come into question for a lot of folks whether you’re voting Republican or Democrat, and so just how can I vote to take care of other people,” she said.
Ziegler said, for governor, he’s voting, “Winsome-Sears, she has a lot of great leadership qualities, confidence, she knows what she’s talking about and is concerned about all of the safety issues and especially with the economy she really stood out to me this year.”
When it comes to the government shutdown, Ziegler said he trusts Winsome-Sears to get the state through the difficult times.
“I think that will be something that she’ll definitely work on and sway to connect across the entire population of Virginia,” Ziegler said.
Chaaban said Spanberger “to a certain extent appeals to some of the things that I believe in and one of them honestly is looking at the educational system and supporting it and helping teachers, helping the school system.”
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