The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virginia. Prior to the American War of Independence,the upper house of the General Assembly was represented by the Virginia Governor's Council,consisting of up to 12 executive counselors appointed by the colonial royal governor as advisers and jurists.
Aston Donald McEachin was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district from 2017 until his death in 2022. His district was based in the state capital,Richmond;it included much of the area between Richmond,a portion of its suburbs,and Hampton Roads.
John Chapman "Chap" Petersen is an American politician. A Democrat,he served in the Virginia House of Delegates 2002–06,was elected to the Virginia State Senate in November 2007,and was reelected in 2011. He represented the state's 34th district,made up of the city of Fairfax and large parts of Fairfax County. In June 2023,Petersen lost the Democratic primary for District 37 to Saddam Azlan Salim. Salim won the general election,and assumed office on January 10,2024.
Jennifer Leigh McClellan is an American politician and attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party,she represented the 9th district in the Virginia State Senate from 2017 to 2023 and the 71st district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2009 to 2017. She ran in the Democratic primary for governor of Virginia in the 2021 election,losing to former governor Terry McAuliffe.
John Chewning Watkins is a Virginia businessman and politician,who served in the Virginia General Assembly for 34 years. A Republican,Watkins served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1982 to 1998,when he was elected to the Senate of Virginia. He represented the 10th district,situated in part of the city of Richmond and its westerly suburbs,including all of Amelia and Powhatan counties and parts of four others.
Richard Henry Stuart is an American politician and attorney. A Republican,he was elected to the Senate of Virginia in November 2007. He currently represents the 25th district,made up of nine counties and parts of two others in the Northern Neck,Middle Peninsula,and northern Piedmont,including all of Caroline County,Essex County,King George County,King William County,Lancaster County,Middlesex County,Northumberland County,Richmond County and Westmoreland County,as well as part of King and Queen County and Spotsylvania County.
Eileen Robin Filler-Corn is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Minority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates from January to April 2022,a position she previously held from 2019 to 2020. She previously served as the 56th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2020 to 2022. She represented the 41st district in the Fairfax County suburbs of Washington,D.C.,from 2010 to 2024. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is also the first woman and Jewish person to serve as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Virginia's 11th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It is currently represented by Democrat Creigh Deeds. It had been represented up until 2024 by Republican Amanda Chase since her 2015 defeat of longtime incumbent Steve Martin in the Republican primary.
Virginia's 12th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Republican Glen Sturtevant since 2024.
Amanda Chase is an American far-right politician and conspiracy theorist. From 2016 to 2024,she was a member of the Virginia Senate for the 11th District and represented Amelia County,the city of Colonial Heights,and part of Chesterfield County. Chase,self-described as "Trump in heels" was narrowly defeated in the primary of her reelection campaign for a redrawn 12th District in June 2023 and left office in January 2024.
Nicholas J. Freitas is an American politician and social media influencer. A Republican,he has been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2016. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2018,losing in the primary election to Corey Stewart. He was the Republican nominee in the 2020 election to represent Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives,which he narrowly lost to Abigail Spanberger,the incumbent Democratic congresswoman. Before entering politics,he served in the United States Army.
Michael P. Mullin,known as Mike Mullin,is a former assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Hampton and an American politician of the Democratic Party. From 2016 to 2023 he represented (part-time) the 93rd district in the Virginia House of Delegates. He resigned on November 7,2023.
Virginia's 26th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It is currently represented by Ryan T. McDougle,who had represented the 4th District since 2006. Before the district moved,it was represented by Republican Mark Obenshain from 2004 to 2024,succeeding fellow Republican Kevin Miller.
Schuyler Thomas VanValkenburg is an American teacher and politician. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 72nd District on November 7,2017,to replace retiring delegate Jimmie Massie. He defeated Republicans Eddie Whitlock and GayDonna Vandergriff in the 2017 and 2019 elections,respectively. In the 2023 state elections,VanValkenburg was elected over incumbent Siobhan Dunnavant in the newly redrawn 16th District. The race was considered highly competitive for control of the Virginia Senate.
The 2019 Virginia Senate election was held on November 5,2019,concurrently with the House election,to elect members to all 40 seats in the Senate of Virginia for the 161st Virginia General Assembly and the 162nd Virginia General Assembly. Primaries were held on June 11. The elections resulted in Democrats gaining 2 seats in the senate,and gaining control of both chambers of the General Assembly,marking the first time that Democrats held control of both legislative and executive branches in Virginia since 1993.
The 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 2,2021,to elect the next governor of Virginia. The election was concurrent with other elections for Virginia state offices. Incumbent Democratic governor Ralph Northam was ineligible to run for re-election,as the Constitution of Virginia prohibits governors from serving consecutive terms. Businessman Glenn Youngkin won the Republican nomination at the party's May 8 convention,which was held in 37 polling locations across the state,and was officially declared the nominee on May 10. The Democratic Party held its primary election on June 8,which former governor Terry McAuliffe easily won.
Ghazala Firdous Hashmi is an Indian-born American politician and former academic administrator and educator. A Democrat,Hashmi represents the 15th district in the Senate of Virginia. She worked as an educator and academic administrator for 25 years before running for office.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia were held on November 8,2022,to elect the 11 U.S. representatives from the state of Virginia,one from each of the state's 11 congressional districts. The elections coincide with other elections to the House of Representatives. Pursuant to state law,primaries organized through the Department of Elections were held on June 21,2022. However,some Republican firehouse primaries were held on dates as late as May 21,2022.
The 2023 Virginia Senate election was held on Tuesday,November 7,2023,concurrently with elections for the Virginia House of Delegates,to elect senators to all 40 seats in the Senate of Virginia for the 163rd and 164th Virginia Assembly. Nomination primaries held through the Department of Elections were held June 20,2023. These were the first elections held following redistricting as a result of the 2020 census. The Democrats retained control of the Senate.
Steven Rawlings is an American attorney and politician who has served as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 66th House District since January 2025. His district includes the northern part of Boone County. He is running to be a member of the Kentucky Senate from Kentucky's 11th Senate District in the 2024 Kentucky Senate election.
