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Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has pulled out of the race for Virginia governor in 2025, leaving 7th District Rep. Abigail Spanberger as the presumptive Democratic nominee.
In an announcement Tuesday morning, Stoney said he will instead run for lieutenant governor, the state’s second-highest office, next year.
“I believe that the best way to ensure that all Virginia families do get the change they deserve is for our party to come together [and] avoid a costly and damaging primary,” said Stoney, who did not endorse Spanberger by name.
“Given everything at stake in the next Governor’s race — from reproductive rights to education funding and tax fairness — I believe this is a time when Democrats must stand united and avoid an ugly primary for governor,” he added in the statement.
Spanberger had significantly outraised Stoney and accumulated more endorsements from Democratic leaders since announcing her campaign in the fall.
“While there was a path to victory it was a narrow path,” Stoney said, “and, after consideration, I firmly believe that running for LG is the right move for me and my family, the right move for the Democratic Party, the right move for the future of the commonwealth of Virginia.”
Other Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor include current Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef. Another Democrat, state Sen. Aaron Rouse of Virginia Beach, announced his campaign for lieutenant governor Tuesday morning.
Republicans likely to run for governor next year include current Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears and current Attorney Gen. Jason Miyares.
Meanwhile, Spanberger will leave Congress at the end of the year to focus on her run for governor. The 7th District consists of eastern Prince William, the city of Fredericksburg and all of King George, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, Culpeper, Orange, Greene and Madison counties, plus a handful of voters in Albemarle County. Prince William makes up the largest portion of the district, casting 79,000 of the 273,000 votes in the district in 2022 and is also the district’s most Democratic area.
Seven Democrats and six Republicans are running for Spanberger’s congressional seat, with nominees to be decided in a June primary for the fall election.
