Incumbent Senator Creigh Deeds is a lawyer in private practice who lives in Bath County with his wife, Siobhan. Senator Deeds has served as a member of the Senate of Virginia representing the 25th district since 2001.

Senator Deeds is outspoken on mental health issues. His son committed suicide a short time after a mental health facility denied him a bed due to lack of space. Senator Deeds has used this tragic event to fight for mental health reform in the Commonwealth. He was the chief patron of Virginia’s “Megan’s Law” to protect children from sexual predators and also introduced legislation establishing the Amber Alert Program in Virginia. He has led the fight to conserve open spaces and our rural landscapes, while promoting efforts to plan for growth and protect our clean air, clean water, and natural environment. The Nature Conservancy and the Preservation Alliance of Virginia awarded him special recognition for his legislation to reinvigorate the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation.

Elliott Harding is running as an independent candidate against Senator Deeds. Harding is the former chair of the Albemarle County Republican Committee. In 2015, he worked on Robert Tracci's campaign for Commonwealth's Attorney in Albemarle. Harding served as an attorney for The Monument Fund in their lawsuit against Charlottesville City Council for voting to remove Confederate statues in Charlottesville.