Norfolk, Ward 1

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Republican incumbent Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and former Democratic US Representative Abigail Spanberger will face each other in the general election for Governor of Virginia.

The Democratic nominee for Governor, Abigail Spanberger actually fights to expand healthcare and reproductive freedom instead of rolling over when conservatives threaten to restrict abortion rights. She’s committed to investing in clean energy, holding polluters accountable, and reducing energy costs for working families. Her gun-safety agenda goes far beyond “thoughts and prayers,” taking on the NRA head-on instead of cashing their donation checks. Spanberger’s pragmatic progressive vision gives suburban moderates and left-leaners tired of corporate centrism and culture-war theatrics a real reason to show up.

The Opposition

The Republican nominee for Governor, Winsome Earle-Sears is all about slashing taxes for big corporations while telling unemployed workers that losing a job is “no big deal.” She grandstands against critical race theory and “woke” classrooms to score culture-war points instead of tackling real education challenges. By waving her Marine Corps credentials, she sells herself as the ultimate tough-on-crime candidate, conveniently ignoring how lax gun laws endanger communities. Her true believers are MAGA zealots who think banning books, rolling back reproductive freedoms, and erasing civil liberties are more important than looking out for working families.

Recommendation

Due to her advocacy for abortion access, gun violence prevention, and clean energy, Abigail Spanberger is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Democratic Virginia State Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Republican John Reid will face each other in the general election for Lt. Governor of Virginia.

The Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, Ghazala Hashmi is fighting to pump real money into public schools instead of the right’s perennial budget cuts and culture-war book bans. She defends reproductive freedom and Medicaid expansion for working families while conservatives keep dialing back healthcare access and waving anti-abortion placards. Her clean-energy agenda and environmental-justice bills actually target polluters, not the customary GOP handouts to pipeline lobbyists. Dreamers, suburban progressives fed up with partisan hijinks, and anyone who’d trade culture-war theatrics for equity and opportunity will cheer her unapologetic stand for Virginia’s working families.

The Opposition

The Republican nominee for Lt. Governor, John Reid is a self-styled small-government crusader who’ll happily cut taxes for wealthy donors while pretending he’s doing the same for working Virginians. He rails against “woke” curriculum and critical race theory, because apparently teaching actual American history is more offensive to him than runaway inequality. He touts law-and-order credentials and celebrity as a conservative radio host, hawking gun rights like they’re the ultimate public-safety strategy. He even plans to torpedo constitutional protections for same-sex marriage, proving that an openly gay candidate will stab his own community in the back for party unity, the perfect pick for culture-war diehards who prefer corporate giveaways to real solutions for working families.

Recommendation

Due to her advocacy for public education, abortion access, and environmental justice, Ghazala Hashmi is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares faces a challenge from former Democratic Virginia State Delegate Jay Jones.

The Democratic nominee for Attorney General, Jay Jones has pledged to sue the Trump administration every time it infringes on the rights of Virginians. He’s secured victories for abortion access, expanded Medicaid to cover thousands more Virginians, and even wrote anti-price-gouging measures to keep corporate vultures in check. His public-safety plan pairs smart gun-violence prevention and community-based crime interventions rather than recycling the right’s tired “lock ’em up” mantra for political ads. Grassroots progressives, consumer-rights advocates, and anyone sick of endless culture-war stunts will line up behind a candidate who actually puts families over fear-mongering theatrics.

The Opposition

Incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares cozies up to ICE, shaming local authorities who don’t cooperate with Trump’s policies of mass deportation, because terrorizing immigrant families is apparently his idea of due process. He grandstands on opioid crackdowns but turns a blind eye to corporate-friendly loopholes that keep the drug pipeline flowing. He bills himself as a federalism champion when suing Washington over environmental rules, conveniently ignoring states’ rights whenever big donors flash a check. His true believers are tough-on-crime zealots who think more ICE raids, harsher sentencing, and tax cuts for the wealthy are the pinnacle of compassionate governance.

Recommendation

Due to his advocacy for abortion access, gun violence prevention, and Medicaid coverage, Jay Jones is the progressive candidate in this race.

Virginia’s new 94th House of Delegates district encompasses parts of Norfolk City. With close to 42,000 registered voters, this district leans Democratic.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Democratic Delegate Phil Hernandez faces a challenge from Republican Andy Pittman in HD-94.

Virginia's House District 94 is located entirely within the City of Norfolk's North side. In the 2024 election it remained strongly Democratic by comfortable double-digit margins.

Incumbent Democratic Delegate Phil M. Hernandez has served in the House of Delegates since January 2024. A lifelong Hampton Roads resident, he holds degrees from William & Mary and UC Berkeley Law and previously served in the Obama White House on environmental and policy issues. He was also the Senior Vice President of Policy at a nonprofit working to increase teacher pay and public school funding. In his first term, he passed sweeping legislation on tax relief, climate resilience, unclaimed property reform, and child care—aided by early recognition as “Rookie Legislator of the Year.”
Committee Assignments: Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, Courts of Justice, Finance

Constitutional Amendments
- Co-patroned a Constitutional Amendment to enshrine abortion rights in Virginia’s Constitution
- Co-patroned a Constitutional Amendment to restore voting rights to returning citizens
- Co-patroned a Constitutional Amendment to enshrine equal marriage rights in Virginia’s Constitution

Education
- Voted to raise teacher pay to the national average
- Voted to increase protections and support for cyberbullying
- Voted to authorize public colleges and universities to prohibit guns on school property

Economy and Inflation
- Co-patroned a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027
- Co-patroned a bill to establish paid family and medical leave
- Co-patroned a bill to repeal prohibitions on collective bargaining for public employees
- Voted to establish regulatory bodies for the cannabis industry in Virginia
- Voted to establish frameworks to preserve local housing
- Voted for the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act

Health and Human Services
- Co-patroned a bill to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board
- Voted to establish the right to access and use FDA-approved contraceptives
- Co-sponsored a bill to establish paid medical and family leave
- Voted to require health insurance plans to cover contraceptives

Other Issues
- Co-patroned a bill to establish regulations for “high-risk” AI
- Co-patroned a bill to authorize Ranked Choice Voting for certain local elections
- Voted to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and possession of assault-style weapons
- Patroned a bill to prohibit weapons in hospitals that provide mental health care

The Opposition

Republican Andy Pittman is a Norfolk native. He graduated from James Madison University and Washington & Lee School of Law. Pittman has served as an attorney at the local, state, and federal levels. He was a law clerk to the U.S. District Court in Norfolk and the Virginia Supreme Court. Pittman unsuccessfully ran for the District 94 seat in 2023. He and his wife live in Ocean View with their three young children.

Constitutional Amendments
Andy Pittman is anti-abortion and will not support HJ 1, which would enshrine reproductive rights in the Virginia Constitution.

Education
Andy Pittman repeats right-wing disinformation about public school “indoctrination." He appears to imply that parents should not choose public schools.

Economy and Inflation
Pittman opposes union efforts for collective bargaining. He pledges to oppose tax increases and fight for permanent tax cuts, including the car tax and all taxes on services, which will decrease services.

Other Issues
Pittman engages in anti-immigrant rhetoric. He repeats disinformation about immigration and scapegoats immigrants for Virginia’s problems.

Recommendation

Based on his history of advocating for quality public education, environmental protections, and workers' rights, Delegate Phil Hernandez is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Democratic Treasurer Daun Sessoms Hester is running for reelection unopposed in the City of Norfolk.


Norfolk is an independent city in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia, situated at the confluence of the Elizabeth and Lafayette Rivers just north of Virginia Beach, covering about 53 square miles and home to roughly 231,000 residents. In the 2024 presidential election, Norfolk voters backed the Democratic nominee by double-digit margins.

Democrat Daun Sessoms Hester has been a resident of Norfolk City her entire life. She is a former Virginia State Delegate who served District 89 from 2013-2018. Before her time as a delegate, from 1996-2010, Hester served on the Norfolk City Council. She represented Superward 7, which includes 50% of Norfolk’s voters. She has been Norfolk City’s Treasurer since 2018.

As Norfolk Treasurer, Hester implemented an online bill payment system for the city to encourage taxpayers to go paperless and also to offer the convenience of having a portal where taxpayers can view all of their bills to make full or partial payments.  When she served on Norfolk’s city council, Hester helped establish the “Norfolk Youth Council” to develop future leaders of the city. She served on a few task forces to guide commercial and residential development by helping business owners and residents identify ways to improve their communities. 

In the House of Delegates, Hester patroned legislation to make community college free to qualifying individuals and make higher education institutions more accountable for sexual misconduct. She sponsored a bill to hold child welfare agencies accountable for operating without a license. She also supported reproductive rights by voting to increase access to birth control and against defunding Planned Parenthood. 

In 2009, she was part of discussions to eliminate the school to prison pipeline in Norfolk and the over representation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system. She was recognized by the Champions for Children Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads as the 2016 Legislative Champion for Children. She also worked for the Planning Council, a regional agency to help children and families by better connecting them to resources and programs so they can thrive.

Recommendation

This is an uncontested race. Due to Hester’s history of civic service, advocacy for young people, and dedication to her community, she is a progressive candidate.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Democratic Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi is running for reelection unopposed in the City of Norfolk.


Norfolk is an independent city in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia, situated at the confluence of the Elizabeth and Lafayette Rivers just north of Virginia Beach, covering about 53 square miles and home to roughly 231,000 residents. In the 2024 presidential election, Norfolk voters backed the Democratic nominee by double-digit margins.

Incumbent Ramin Fatehi, a Hampton Roads native, was first elected as Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2021. Prior to his service in Norfolk, Fatehi was an assistant public defender in Richmond, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Chesapeake, and a federal prosecutor in Charlottesville. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 2000 and a law degree from Columbia University School of Law in 2003. Fatehi and his wife have two sons together.

Fatehi advocates for ending cash bail. He is the primary author of the policy to dismiss all cases of simple marijuana possession that involved the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. He wants to get rid of mandatory minimums and non-waivable court fees. Additionally, he supports making it easier for people convicted of certain crimes to expunge and seal their records. Fatehi opposes the death penalty and believes in abolishing it on the federal level. 

Fatehi advocates using his office to fight for a fair and equitable justice system in Norfolk. He believes in building community trust by stopping the criminalization of poverty, homelessness, mental illness, and substance-use disorder. Fatehi fights to close the school-to-prison pipeline. He advocates for diversion, treatment, and rehabilitation. 

He is a proponent of community prosecution, which seeks to make prosecutors responsive to the needs of the communities they represent. Fatehi supports victim advocacy efforts like the Family Justice Center in Norfolk, which caters to the needs of survivors of domestic and sexual violence by providing them with services and treatment. He also advocates for funding of the Virginia Witness Protection program. He implemented  a “Conviction Integrity Unit” at the prosecutor’s office to prevent sending innocent people to prison. 

Fatehi believes in restorative justice initiatives and wants to prevent violence before police are called by involving community leaders to diffuse tensions that often lead to violence. He promises for faster review of police shootings and misconduct. He also wants to address racial disparities in prosecution by requiring all prosecutors to undergo implicit bias training and study the history of systemic racism and mass incarceration in the U.S.

Recommendation

Fatehi is running unopposed. Due to his support of equity, ending mass incarceration, community prosecution, and other criminal justice reforms, Fatehi is the progressive choice in this race.

Portions of this recommendation have appeared in a previous Progressive Voters Guide.