In the open race to serve as Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) faces Glenn Youngkin (R). One minor candidate, Princess Blanding (Liberation), will also be on the ballot. The Constitution of Virginia prohibits governors from serving multiple consecutive terms, so incumbent Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) is ineligible for reelection.

The office of governor is established by the Constitution of Virginia, and the office holder’s primary duty is to serve as the chief of the commonwealth’s executive branch of government. The governor must report on the state of the commonwealth to the General Assembly, convene the legislature when a special session is called, ensure that state laws are executed properly, and serve as commander-in-chief of the state militia. Additionally, governors have the power to submit recommendations to the General Assembly, veto bills (in whole or in part with a line-item veto), commute fines and issue pardons, and restore rights to convicted felons.

Virginia governors must be at least thirty years old, citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and have been a resident and registered voter in the commonwealth for five years preceding the date of the election. They are elected to four-year terms and there are no term limits, although governors are prohibited from serving consecutive terms. Virginia is the only state in the United States that does not permit governors to stand for reelection.

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In the open race to serve as the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Delegate Hala Ayala (D-VA 51st) faces former Delegate Winsome Sears (R-VA 90th). Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax (D) is not seeking reelection.

The office of lieutenant governor is established by the Constitution of Virginia, and the office holder’s primary duty is to serve as the president of the Senate of Virginia. The lieutenant governor may vote in the senate only to break ties. In addition, the lieutenant governor is first in the line of gubernatorial succession and would become governor in the event of the governor’s death, resignation, or removal. Because Virginia governors may only serve one consecutive term, the office of lieutenant governor often serves as a “stepping-stone” toward the governor’s mansion.

Virginia lieutenant governors must be at least thirty years old, citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and have been a resident and registered voter in the commonwealth for five years preceding the date of the election. They are elected to four-year terms and there are no term limits.

The Senate of Virginia is made up of senators elected from forty districts across the commonwealth. The Democratic Party holds a narrow majority with twenty-one seats. The Republican Party holds nineteen seats.

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In the race to represent the eighty-seventh district in the Virginia House of Delegates, one-term incumbent Delegate Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA 87th) is challenged by entrepreneur Greg Moulthrop (R).

The Virginia House of Delegates is the oldest legislative body in the Americas, having been established (as the House of Burgesses) in 1619. Delegates must be at least twenty-one years old and residents of the district they wish to represent, and they are elected to two-year terms with no term limits. There are one hundred districts across the commonwealth. Today, the Democratic Party holds a fifty-five seat majority, and the Republican Party holds forty-five seats.

The house’s eighty-seventh district includes much of the eastern border area of Loudoun County and a small portion of northern Prince William County. Communities in the eighty-seventh district include Antioch, Arcola, Dulles, South Riding, and parts of Ashburn, Broadlands, Cascades, and Sterling.

(Recommendations for other house districts are listed at the bottom of this post.)

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