RICHMOND 鈥 Six Democrats are competing for the party鈥檚 nomination for lieutenant governor to join gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger on the Democratic ticket this fall. The crowded field in the June 17 primary features two state senators, a school board chairman, a former mayor, a former federal prosecutor and a longtime labor leader.
Virginia鈥檚 lieutenant governor has two constitutionally mandated duties 鈥 presiding over the state Senate and being first in the line of succession to governor. The lieutenant governor breaks ties on most issues in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 21-19 edge.
The position 鈥 with a salary of $36,321 鈥 also comes with a bully pulpit to promote a policy agenda and can be springboard to the governorship. Five of the state鈥檚 last 10 lieutenant governors 鈥 before incumbent Winsome Earle-Sears鈥攚ent on to be elected governor. Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee for governor, hopes to become the next to make the leap.
People are also reading…
The Democratic nominee will face Republican John Reid in November. Here鈥檚 a look at the Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor.
Alex Bastani
Longtime labor leader Alex Bastani says his progressive economic positions set him apart, including support for universal health care and a $20 an hour minimum wage.
鈥淢y opponents have kind of ducked (the issue of universal health care). I think that鈥檚 an absolute necessity,鈥 Bastani said.
鈥淥ther candidates have made vague promises about living wage, but I鈥檝e been a very specific amount at $20 an hour,鈥 Bastani said.
she would sign legislation to enact a $15 an hour minimum wage. Virginia鈥檚 current minimum wage is $12.41 per hour.
Ghazala Hashmi
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, has served in the Virginia Senate for six years. Since 2024, she has served as chair of the Education and Health Committee, a panel that traditionally hears bills on high-profile issues such as abortion and school choice.
The first Indian American and the first Muslim woman to serve in Virginia鈥檚 Senate, Hashmi spent nearly 30 years as a professor at the University of Richmond and at Reynolds Community College, where she was founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
In the Senate Hashmi has focused on public education, voting rights, women鈥檚 reproductive rights, gun violence prevention, the environment, housing and affordable access to health care.
鈥淢y length of experience in the General Assembly 鈥 indicates that I鈥檝e been at the forefront of all of the key issues that have been impacting Virginia, and I have a legislative record that speaks to the work that I鈥檝e been doing now for six years around education, health care, our environmental concerns and also on housing issues,鈥 Hashmi said.
She is the only woman in the race.
鈥淭he issues and the concerns that are overwhelmingly in front of women in this particular historic moment, (should) fall upon someone who鈥檚 worked in all of those spaces that do impact the lives of women and their families,鈥 Hashmi said.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has twice vetoed bills Hashmi sponsored to guarantee a right to contraception.
鈥淢y record distinguishes me from others, not only on reproductive health care issues, but all of the economic concerns that impact women and families: child care, (contraception), education opportunities, paid family and medical leave.鈥
She says she would approach the lieutenant governor position as a full-time job.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 critically important given the scale of issues that we are seeing, especially the kind of damage that is coming from Washington, D.C., and the greater burden of responsibility on health care, education, and meeting our infrastructure needs,鈥 Hashmi said. 鈥淲e really need an executive team that鈥檚 going to be fully focused on the work at hand, and that requires a full-time commitment.鈥
Babur Lateef
Dr. Babur Lateef is a full-time ophthalmologist who has served as chairman of the Prince William County School Board for seven years. He is a former member of the University of Virginia鈥檚 Board of Visitors and served as chairman of the University of Virginia鈥檚 Health System board.
He says what sets him apart from his opponents is that he is the only candidate in the race with a full-time job outside of politics.
鈥淚鈥檓 the only one who actually talks to people and is not a career politician who鈥檚 actively working. I see 40 to 50 patients a day, and I hear from a wide variety of constituents,鈥 Lateef said.
鈥淚 have a window into the world on a daily basis of what real people are going through and I think that sets me far apart from these other folks who, many times, I believe, are out of touch.鈥
As the only elected official from Northern Virginia in the race, Lateef said his representation of the region is important to have at the table in the executive branch.
He would approach the lieutenant governor job as a part-time role, as it is established in the state Constitution, he said.
Lateef notes that he is against the legalization of so-called skill games and he is against building a casino in Tysons Corner.
Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney received $25,000 from Pace-O-Matic, an operator of electronic skill games that has been fighting for their legalization in Virginia.
Lateef noted in an interview that the two senators in the race 鈥 Hashmi and Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, voted in support of allowing a casino to be built in Fairfax County.
鈥淚 can tell you that there鈥檚 nobody I talk to who wants a casino in Tysons Corner and there鈥檚 nobody I talk to who thinks having slot machines in 7-Eleven is a good idea,鈥 Lateef said. 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e clearly out of touch with the public.鈥
Aaron Rouse
State Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, was first elected to the General Assembly in 2023. He is a former NFL football player who served on the Virginia Beach City Council from 2019 to 2022.
Rouse grew up in Norfolk and was raised by a single mother.
He attended Virginia Tech on a full scholarship and was the first in his family to graduate college. In 2007, he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers and later played for the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
In a 2023 special election, Rouse defeated his Republican opponent, flipping the seat that Republican Jen Kiggans held before she was elected to Congress.
鈥淚鈥檓 battle tested. I flipped a red district, and I鈥檓 someone who will fight back against Donald Trump and Elon Musk,鈥 Rouse said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been an underdog my whole entire life. I had to work since I was 10 years old not leaving any stone unturned. I won鈥檛 rest until not only I win the nomination, but until we win in November, and then we have more work to do after that.鈥
This year Youngkin again vetoed legislation Rouse introduced to set up a legal market for cannabis sales.
Rouse also is a strong supporter of skill games and introduced legislation last year that sought to legalize them. In the latest reporting period Rouse continued to receive contributions from backers of skill games, including $20,000 from VA Operators for Skill and $20,000 from Republic Amusements.
In the Senate, Rouse chairs the Privileges and Elections Committee, which this year to begin the process toward putting Virginia鈥檚 nearly eight-decade-old ban on compulsory union membership into the state constitution.
, which says workers cannot be forced to join a union as a condition of employment.
Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor, says
鈥淚 have no doubt in my mind that Governor Spanberger and I, we stand with the unions,鈥 Rouse said. 鈥淲e stand with workers in Virginia. We stand with lowering costs and protecting benefits and raising the minimum wage.鈥
Victor SalgadoVictor Salgado, an attorney and law professor, from Arlington County is a former U.S. prosecutor.
Salgado, a son of Peruvian immigrants, has been a prosecutor of corruption at the state and federal levels for the past nearly 13 years.
At the U.S. Justice Department, Salgado prosecuted former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a 2017 criminal trial in which Arpaio was convicted of violating a federal judge鈥檚 order to stop racially profiling Latinos. President Donald Trump later pardoned Arpaio.
鈥淚 am the only lawyer in this race who has dealt with constitutional questions and issues of federalism. I鈥檓 the only lawyer in this race who understands Washington and understands Trumpism, having worked at the DOJ during the first Trump administration, of course, into the Biden administration,鈥 Salgado said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the type of lieutenant governor that we are going to need for the next three and a half years.鈥
Levar Stoney
Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney says his working-class background and his body of work set him apart.
Stoney was born to unwed teenagers and was raised by his grandmother. He was also the first person in his family to graduate high school, and the first to graduate college. As secretary of the commonwealth from 2014 to 2016, he was the first African American to serve in the role and the youngest member of then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe鈥檚 Cabinet.
Stoney鈥檚 campaign received $25,000 from Pace-O-Matic, an operator of electronic skill games that has been fighting for their legalization in Virginia.
Stoney says his record demonstrates that he鈥檚 a fighter.
鈥淚 got elected the same night as Donald Trump did in 2016 and if we look at my record as mayor ... there鈥檚 been no if ands, buts about me standing up to Donald Trump,鈥 Stoney said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what voters are looking for right now. Democratic voters are looking for someone who has a record of defying and standing up to Donald Trump. I鈥檝e done that time and time again.鈥
He says he is the most experienced person in the race with 10 years of public service.
During the eight years Stoney served as mayor of Richmond, he says the city鈥檚 poverty rate decreased by 33% and funding for Richmond Public Schools increased by nearly 60%. He also led the removal of Richmond鈥檚 Confederate monuments.
But Stoney鈥檚 term was also plagued with . Near the end of his term, the city鈥檚 purchasing card program came under fire after the , including exceeded spending limits, missing documentation and contracting issues.
Keith Balmer, the city鈥檚 registrar, resigned in December after an investigation by the city human resources department found Balmer had violated ethics and nepotism policies. And a probe by the inspector general鈥檚 office found that Balmer and his deputy had mismanaged nearly $500,000 in public funds.
The city of Richmond was without drinking water for six days in January, the month after Stoney鈥檚 term ended. The Times-Dispatch found that .
