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The nomination contests set up the fall elections in which all 100 House seats are up for election. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 edge in the chamber.

In the Richmond area, nine of the 11 hopefuls running in the five primary contests are seeking the chance to take on Republican incumbents. The five primaries include three suburban districts that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Democrats hope to flip these seats, now held by Del. David Owen, R-Goochland; Del. Mark Earley, R-Chesterfield; and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield.

A suburban district just east of Richmond will see one of the only two intraparty challenges to a Democratic incumbent: Alicia Atkins, a member of the Henrico County School Board, is challenging Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Henrico.

Common threads

All the Democratic candidates in the five Richmond-area primaries say they would vote to implement a paid family leave program in Virginia.

All want to keep Virginia in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which seeks to cut carbon emissions from power plants. All support increasing the state鈥檚 minimum wage, currently $12.41 per hour. All would vote for proposed constitutional amendments to guarantee access to abortion, protect same sex marriage and restore rights to people convicted of felonies after they鈥檝e served their sentences. They all say they want to support public schools.

Different paths

But some claim issues off the beaten path for their own:

Justin Woodford, one of two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Earley, wants caps on campaign contributions, and supports ranked-choice voting 鈥� the system used in Australia, where several parties contest legislative seats.

(In a 2021 convention, Republicans nominated Glenn Youngkin for governor via ranked-choice voting. Voters listed their preferences in order and the lowest-finishing candidates in each round were dropped.)

In the strongly Republican district that Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, has represented since 1998, one of the Democratic hopefuls, Randolph Critzer, wants to ensure recycling services remain available. The other, Bilal Raychouni, wants to ensure broadband, transportation and health care services are available in rural areas.

Dustin Wade, one of the three Democrats who hope to take on Coyner, has tapped his Abraxas Home Care business for a $100,000 donation to his campaign 鈥� the biggest single donation in a House primary. He says he鈥檇 push for more mental health and substance abuse treatment programs if he鈥檚 the Democrat who ends up challenging Coyner.

Wade, like several other Democratic hopefuls, is a newcomer to elected politics. But some have sought office before. Wade, for instance, faces two Democrats who failed in earlier races against Coyner: Lindsey Dougherty lost to Coyner in 2019 and failed in a bid for the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors in 2023. Stephen Miller-Pitts lost to Coyner in 2023.

Raychouni unsuccessfully challenged Ware in 2023. Woodford is running against Leslie Mehta, the unsuccessful Democratic challenger to Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, in 2024.

Here鈥檚 a rundown of the five Richmond-area primaries for House of Delegates.

57th District

(Far northwestern Henrico, eastern Goochland)

Two Democrats are seeking a chance to challenge Owen, who is seeking a second term. First-time candidate May Nivar, who grew up working in her family鈥檚 small Chinese restaurant, faces another newcomer, Andrew Schear, a small business owner and stay-at-home dad.

In 2023, Owen defeated Democrat Susanna Gibson 51%-49%, following reports that Gibson had streamed sex acts with her husband online. In 2024, 53.5% of 鈥榮 voters backed Harris for president.

Nivar works in corporate communications at Altria Group, where she led the tobacco giant鈥檚 efforts to help employees find community volunteering and giving opportunities. She has raised more than $159,000 so far in her primary bid.

鈥淲e need an economy that works for everyone,鈥� Nivar said. 鈥淚 am committed to creating an economy where everyone can thrive by supporting good-paying jobs, raising wages, cutting red tape for small businesses, and providing tax relief for families.

鈥淚 will also work to lower the cost of living 鈥� making housing, health care, and everyday necessities more affordable and accessible,鈥� she said. She said she wants to carefully review any proposal to repeal Virginia鈥檚 right-to-work law. Nivar is the only Richmond-area Democratic candidate in a House primary who did not simply say they would vote to repeal.

Schear said he鈥檚 running because raising children, owning a home, and saving enough for retirement are increasingly becoming unattainable goals for working families. He鈥檚 raised $13,149 for his run.

鈥淭he top three issues I would like to address are child care affordability, housing affordability, and changes to Virginia鈥檚 tax code to ensure the highest 1% of earners in Virginia pay their fair share,鈥� he said.

He added that he would introduce a bill empowering employers to cover one-third the cost of employees鈥� child care.

72nd District

(Northwest Chesterfield and Powhatan extending into Amelia and Nottoway counties)

Attorney Critzer and teacher Raychouni are seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Ware, a member of the House since 1998.

Republican Donald Trump with 61% of votes cast. In 2023, Ware defeated Raychouni in the district 68%-32%.

Critzer said, 鈥淲ith the economy shaky and prices going up, the Virginia General Assembly has a responsibility to help Virginians鈥� bottom lines and to help create an economy that works for everyone.鈥�

He said he鈥檇 also push to fully fund public schools.

Raychouni said if elected he would work to develop competitive benefits and compensation packages for teachers and would champion initiatives to provide free meals to all K-12 students to combat hunger and promote health.

鈥淎s a teacher, I know firsthand that Virginia鈥檚 education system faces critical challenges that demand immediate attention,鈥� he said.

73rd District

(Western Chesterfield)

Next door, in the that Earley represents, Harris edged Trump by 0.6%. In the Democratic primary, Mehta, the former legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, and first-time candidate Woodford are seeking the Democratic nod.

Mehta is highlighting a record that includes appointments by Democratic and Republican governors to commissions on racial equity and on rare diseases. She has said the death of her 5-year-daughter Brooke in 2021 from a neurological disorder opened her eyes to the challenges many families face getting health care, especially with seeking help for rare and complex conditions. She鈥檚 raised more than $52,600 so far.

She said her top priorities if elected would be supporting small businesses, investing in workforce development, and lowering costs of housing, child care and health care.

鈥淚鈥檒l fight for bold investments in school infrastructure, support staff, and a 21st-century curriculum that prepares students for success,鈥� she said.

Woodford, a consultant, wants to see a public health insurance option that could cover any Virginian regardless of income. He also promises to combat wage theft: violations of fair wage and hours standards, as well as misclassification of employees as contractors. He鈥檚 raised $5,005.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to pass the strictest campaign finance laws in the country and cap the amount that corporations or PACs can contribute to candidates,鈥� he said, adding that he would also propose raising teachers鈥� starting pay to at least $75,000.

Virginia, which does not limit donations to candidates, has less restrictive campaign finance laws than many other states. Virginia鈥檚 average budgeted classroom teacher salary for fiscal year 2025, across levels of experience, is $73,808, according to a March report from the state Department of Education.

75th District

(Eastern Chesterfield, Hopewell, western Prince George County)

Three Democrats are bidding for the nomination to challenge Coyner in , where Harris topped Trump 52%-46%.

Dougherty has a master鈥檚 in public administration and volunteers with groups that advocate for expanding health care access for children across Virginia and that support single mothers and their families achieve financial independence. She says her campaign is informed by the experience of navigating a complex health care system with two children with complicated autoimmune disorders. She鈥檚 raised more than $14,100 so far.

Doughtery said that, if elected, she would push for a wider variety of community college classes and trade school programs and streamlining course credit rules for admission to state colleges and universities. She also wants to reduce barriers to families with special needs children and make pre-K programs available to all 3- and 4-year-old children.

Miller-Pitts, a combat veteran, service-disabled small business owner and community activist, said his experience teaching at Virginia State University has given him practical knowledge of education, adding, 鈥淚 will do my part to fully fund public schools, raise teacher pay for teachers, and do more for mental health services for students.鈥�

Wade is a nurse who has earned the Disability Law Center of Virginia Impact Award in 2023 and 2024. He and his husband, Joseph Wade, founded Abraxas Home Care, an agency that provides support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He says keeping legislators鈥� attention on the needs of people with disabilities is one of his top priorities. He raised more than $83,000 by March 31 before Abraxas made a $100,000 donation on April 11.

鈥淚 will introduce legislation to increase funding for mobile crisis units, expand school-based mental health services, and invest in the training and retention of mental health professionals,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time we treat mental health care as the essential health care it is.鈥�

81st District

(Eastern Henrico, part of northern Chesterfield, all of Charles City County)

In this encompassing eastern Henrico County and stretching into Charles City County and an area of northern Chesterfield along U.S. 1, Henrico School Board member Atkins is seeking unseat McQuinn, who has represented this area since 2009.

Atkins is the first Black woman elected to the Henrico County School Board.

A health care professional and graduate of Highland Springs High School, she noted her efforts to develop a K-12 鈥渓iving building,鈥� a $16.3 million project at Wilton Farm in eastern Henrico County that will be part of Varina High School鈥檚 Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainability.

鈥淚 plan to introduce legislation to modernize school infrastructure and build a workforce pipeline aligned with Virginia鈥檚 economic future,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ducation is the great equalizer, and every child deserves a clear path to success.鈥�

McQuinn got her start in politics as an 11-year-old, knocking on doors for Henry Marsh, who later became the first Black mayor of Richmond and served as a state senator from 1992 to 2014.

An associate minister at New Bridge Baptist Church, McQuinn was elected to the Richmond School Board in 1992 and served on the Richmond City Council from 1999 to 2009. She鈥檚 a member of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee and serves on the Education and Transportation committees. This year, bills McQuinn sponsored established a new fund to research sickle cell disease and required certification for individuals and firms doing mold remediation.

鈥淚n light of the federal government鈥檚 recent decision to shut down the Department of Education, and to decrease services of the Health and Human Services Department, I plan to continue fighting for quality education and health care on the state level,鈥� McQuinn said. 鈥淚 have been a longtime advocate for these two focus areas and for protecting vulnerable populations, young and old.鈥�