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Democratic contests to pick nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general are the only two statewide races on the ballot Tuesday. Both parties' nominees for governor are set and Republicans already have nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

The four Democratic frontrunners for lieutenant governor in terms of fundraising are split on a casino in Fairfax County鈥檚 Tysons Corner. Sens. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield and Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, favor the casino, while former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and Dr. Babur Lateef, chairman of the Prince William County School Board, oppose the idea.

Six candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination. The winner will face Republican nominee John Reid in the general election. Virginia鈥檚 lieutenant governor presides over the Senate and is first in line to succeed the governor.

Here is a look at the Democratic candidates' closing arguments ahead of Tuesday's primary.

Stoney

In the final stretch of the campaign, Stoney is emphasizing his eight years as Richmond鈥檚 top executive.

At a campaign event at a swanky restaurant in Alexandria, Stoney showcased his charisma and booming voice as he made the case for himself.

鈥淲hat I'm most known for in the commonwealth of Virginia these days, outside of being a good damn Democrat, is what I did in the summer of 2020 when I ordered the removal of every damn (city owned) Confederate monument,鈥� he said, standing beside his friend and mentor, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

鈥�(I received) threats on my life 鈥� but it was the right thing to do. And I could go on years and years afterwards and look that little girl in her face and tell her that her dad did the right thing,鈥� Stoney said, referencing his 15-month-old daughter, Sunday.

Stoney, McAuliffe's secretary of the commonwealth from 2014 to 2016, paints himself as a self-made go-getter, climbing the ladder from the day he was born to a couple of unwed teenagers.

He recounted his childhood of free and reduced lunches, going to school with holes in his socks and sitting in the back of classrooms while his classmates went on field trips because his family didn鈥檛 have the money. He was the first person in his family to graduate high school and the first to graduate college.

In 2016, he became the youngest mayor of Richmond at 35 years old.

鈥淭here's folks who told me that Richmond's best days had passed, that the sun wouldn't come up again, that the city would fall into the earth,鈥� Stoney said. 鈥淏ut guess what? The opposite happened. More people arrived in Richmond. More people chose Richmond. More dollars arrived in the city, and more people moved in.鈥�

Stoney raised the most money of any of the six Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor during the campaign, totaling more than $2.1 million as of June 5, . Stoney in late 2023 announced a run for governor, but dropped his bid in April 2024 after former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, now the Democratic nominee for governor, quickly outpaced him in fundraising.

Rouse

Rouse, the senator from Virginia Beach, is driving home the message that he鈥檚 a fighter who can stand up to President Donald Trump. Rouse, a former NFL defensive back, has a gentle, soft-spoken voice that belies his 6鈥�4鈥� stature.

At a campaign event at a South Side Richmond church, Rouse talked about his humble beginnings. He said he was raised by a mother who worked multiple jobs, a grandmother who cleaned houses and a grandfather who was illiterate because he was constantly working but served in the U.S. Army. Rouse鈥檚 father was incarcerated.

鈥淚'm running to let our community know, to let our commonwealth know, what it means to come from nothing and to become something,鈥� Rouse said in a room of Black faith leaders. 鈥淚'm running to let you know that the man you see before you today, that all glory goes to God, belongs to God.鈥�

Rouse said he began working and became the man of the house when he was 10 years old, taking up jobs in Virginia Beach cutting grass, washing school buses, and working at Farm Fresh and Target.

Rouse, who received a football scholarship to Virginia Tech, was a first-generation college student. During his freshman year of college, Rouse had a son. He said he moved home to be with his family and work a construction job so that he could be a better father to his son than his dad was to him.

He went back to school and graduated from Virginia Tech. Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2007, he played four years in the NFL before retiring from his football career and starting a nonprofit that helps underprivileged children by providing food, school supplies and more educational opportunities.

Rouse was elected to the Virginia Beach City Council in 2018. In 2023 he won a special election that flipped the state Senate seat Republican Jen Kiggans held before she was elected to Congress.

鈥淚'm not running to be somebody. I'm running because I am always fighting,鈥� Rouse said. 鈥淚t goes back to what my grandfather taught: keep God first, work for everything that you want, and your word is your bond.鈥�

Hashmi

Hashmi, the senator from Chesterfield, is leaning on her legislative experience and, as the only woman in the race, on her commitment to protecting abortion rights in Virginia.

During a memorable moment on the campaign trail, Lateef, the Prince William School Board chairman and a physician, stood up during a forum in 色多多 and declared, 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 safe to say I鈥檓 the only person on this stage who鈥檚 delivered babies.鈥�

Hashmi quickly raised her hand behind him, pointed to herself and held up two fingers, which drew a rancorous applause as she stood and waved her hands.

Hashmi has attended more than a dozen rallies and protests over the past few months, leading crowds in chants about protecting democracy.

She was born in India and emigrated with her family to the U.S. at 4 years old. Her family settled in Statesboro, Georgia, a small college town, during school desegregation. Her father taught American government at Georgia Southern University.

Hashmi spent 30 years as a college English professor before she ran for the state Senate in 2019 and unseated Republican incumbent Glen Sturtevant. In flipping a red seat she helped deliver the Senate majority to Democrats for the first time since 2012.

When she first decided to run for office, Hashmi said people warned her that she was too mild-mannered for politics and that voters would not elect an immigrant Muslim in a red district in the heart of the former Confederacy.

鈥淣ot only did I win, I flipped that seat by 10 points,鈥� Hashmi said at the 色多多 forum in May. 鈥淪o, when they tell you that English teachers are mild-mannered, you remind them that we're the ones that are teaching the books that other people are trying to ban. There ain't nothing mild-mannered about English teachers.鈥�

Hashmi serves as chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee, which takes up all proposed legislation in those areas, including Hashmi's top legislative priorities of reproductive freedom, public education and health care.

鈥淪trength is not measured by the decibel of your voice,鈥� Hashmi said. 鈥淚t's measured by the steel in your spine. I got that steel in my spine.鈥�

Hashmi and Rouse both raised $1.8 million during the campaign as of June 5, according to VPAP.

Lateef

Lateef, a prominent ophthalmologist in Prince William, and chair of the county鈥檚 school board, has spent the final stretch of the campaign pushing back against a casino in Fairfax County鈥檚 Tysons Corner and his opponents who support it.

In an interview with Potomac Local News, he called Hashmi and Rouse 鈥淕amblin' Ghazala and Roulette Rouse.鈥澛�

Lateef鈥檚 opposition to the casino and his interest in helping to alleviate the economic hardships in Southwest Virginia are informed by his childhood, he said.

Lateef, the son of Pakistani immigrants, was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, where he lived until he was 24 years old.

Youngstown was built on the booming steel industry and played a significant role in supplying materials for weaponry in World War II, but fell into economic despair after the war ended and the demand for steel declined. It鈥檚 now one of the poorest cities in Ohio.

鈥淓conomies are built on the backs of hard-working Virginians, not casinos,鈥� he said in an interview on Friday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a strategy of success for anyone but unfortunately my opponents believe otherwise.鈥�

An eye doctor for more than 25 years, Lateef has served since 2018 as chairman of the school board in Prince William, which has the state's second-largest school system, after Fairfax County. He also has served on the Board of Visitors at the University of Virginia and teaches at George Washington University鈥檚 Medical School.

He has raised $1.3 million during the campaign as of June 5, according to VPAP.

Salgado

Victor Salgado, a former federal prosecutor from Arlington County, does not accept donations from corporations and has made campaign finance reform a focus of his campaign.

Salgado, like Lateef, has been railing against Hashmi and Rouse.

The son of Peruvian immigrants, Salgado was 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.

Salgado has raised about $221,000 during the campaign as of June 5, according to VPAP.

Bastani

Retired attorney and labor leader Alex Bastani is the most progressive candidate in terms of his economic positions and has called himself the Bernie Sanders of the race.

Bastani is advocating for universal health care and a $20-an-hour minimum wage.

A lawyer and former union president, he also is an actor and an economist who worked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 33 years. He led the American Federation of Government Employees Local 12 for 11 years, representing workers at the U.S. Department of Labor.

He has raised the least amount of money of all the candidates, at about $3,000.