City of Petersburg

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.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Republican Delegate Mike Cherry faces a challenge from Democrat Jonas Eppert in HD-74.

Virginia’s House District 74 covers portions of Chesterfield County and the City of Colonial Heights in Central Virginia’s capital region. In the 2024 election it leaned Republican by single-digit margins.

Jonas J. Eppert is a Florida-born environmental specialist and renewable-minded public servant running as the Democratic candidate for Virginia’s 74th House District in November 2025. A graduate of the University of Central Florida and Powhatan County’s Environmental Coordinator, he prioritizes affordable healthcare, fully funded schools, environmental protection, and reducing everyday costs for families. Committed to transparency and term limits, Eppert enters the race against the Republican incumbent, Mike Cherry, in a key swing district.

Constitutional Amendments
Eppert will support  HJ 1, which would enshrine reproductive rights in the Virginia Constitution.

Education
Jonas Eppert pledges to invest in public schools, including teachers, classrooms, and students. He supports free school meals for all students.

Economy and Inflation
Eppert prioritizes addressing the financial burdens of families, including high costs for groceries, gas, and utilities. He advocates for putting people ahead of corporate interests.

He currently serves as the Environmental Coordinator for Powhatan County, focusing on promoting sustainable development that preserves the community's local character. He pledges to strengthen worker protections, including salary transparency.

Health and Human Services
Eppert pledges to lower healthcare costs, including prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket expenses. He also advocates for a state-run insurance option.

Other Issues
Eppert will fight to hold polluters accountable and expand cost-sharing programs so farmers can invest in conservation. He also pledges to protect immigrant families and push for a fair and equitable Virginia for all.

The Opposition

Incumbent Republican Delegate Mike Cherry was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2021. He previously served on the Colonial Heights City Council. He holds a B.S. from Liberty University and an M.S. in Education from Regent University. He served as the Head of School at Life Christian Academy. Delegate Cherry and his wife have two children. 

Delegate Cherry voted against the Constitutional Amendments to enshrine abortion rights, to restore voting rights to returning citizens, and to enshrine equal marriage rights.

He voted against raising teacher pay, authorizing public colleges and universities to prohibit guns on school property, increasing the minimum wage, establishing paid family and medical leave, and repealing prohibitions on collective bargaining for public employees. Additionally, he has voted against tenants' rights bills, affordable healthcare bills, and a bill establishing regulations for “high-risk” AI.

Recommendation

Based on his commitment to supporting quality public education, environmental protection, and access to affordable healthcare, Jonas Eppert is the progressive candidate in this race.

Virginia’s new 82nd House of Delegates district encompasses Petersburg City, parts of Dinwiddie County, parts of Prince George County, and Surry County. With almost 64,000 registered voters, this is a competitive district that doesn’t lean in one direction or another.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Republican Delegate Kim Taylor faces a challenge from Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams in HD-82.

Virginia's House District 82 includes the City of Petersburg, Surry County, and portions of Dinwiddie and Prince George counties. In the 2024 election it leaned Democratic by single-digit margins.

Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams grew up in the Five Forks area of Hopewell, spending most of her childhood in a single-parent home. She previously ran for the District 82 seat in 2023. She graduated from Virginia Tech, and went on to work at a CPA firm. Later she became an auditor for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Constitutional Amendments
Kimberly Pope Adams will support HJ 1, which would enshrine reproductive rights in the Virginia Constitution, HJ 2, which would automatically restore voting rights to people upon release from incarceration, and HJ 9, which would repeal the Commonwealth’s defunct same-sex marriage ban and guarantee marriage equality for LGBTQ+ Virginians.

Education
Kimberly Pope Adams believes in the right to a free, quality public school education for every child. She supports funding schools and increasing teacher pay and advocates for investments in school infrastructure. 

Economy and Inflation
She recognizes that food insecurity is an undeniable fact for many residents and plans to target this by:
- Incentivizing local farmers to donate to community food banks
- Promoting initiatives where local farmers sell their produce directly to public schools
- Encouraging traditional grocery store retailers to invest in our community
- Additionally, she supports unions and collective bargaining, paid sick leave, and pledges to invest in broadband access.

Health and Human Services
Kimberly Pope Adams pledges to oppose any attempt to ban abortions or restrict access to contraception.

Other Issues
She promotes a law enforcement workforce that reflects the community it serves. She will work with community leaders, individual citizens, and law enforcement to establish innovative crime prevention initiatives and ensure state funding exists to adequately staff Sheriff and Police departments.

The Opposition
Incumbent Republican Delegate Kim Taylor was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2021. She holds a psychology degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Alongside her husband, she is a small business owner of car repair shops. 

Constitutional Amendments
Delegate Kim Taylor voted against a bills to enshrine abortion rights in the Virginia Constitution and equal marriage rights in Virginia’s Constitution.

Education
- Voted against authorizing public colleges and universities to prohibit guns on school property
- Voted in favor of a forced-outing bill targeting transgender students

Economy and Inflation
- Voted against increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027
- Voted against establishing paid family and medical leave
- Voted against repealing prohibitions on collective bargaining for public employees
- Voted against establishing regulatory bodies to establish a Virginia cannabis industry

Health and Human Services
- Voted against establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board

Other Issues
- Voted against a bill that would require secure storage of firearms in households where children live Voted against establishing regulations for “high-risk” AI
- Did not vote on a bill that would establish Ranked Choice Voting for certain local elections

Recommendation
Based on her commitment to protecting abortion access, quality public education, and supporting Constitutional Amendments for abortion access, voting rights, and marriage equality, Kimberly Pope Adams is the progressive candidate in this race.

This election will be held on November 4, 2025. Incumbent Democratic Treasurer Paul Mullin is running for reelection unopposed in the City of Petersburg.


Petersburg is an independent city in central Virginia at the fall line of the Appomattox River, covering about 23 square miles and home to approximately 34,000 residents. In the 2024 presidential election, Petersburg voters overwhelmingly supported the Democratic nominee.

Incumbent Treasurer Paul Mullin previously served as deputy treasurer of the City of Petersburg from 2012-2017. He holds an accounting degree from Baruch College and he currently works as an operations manager for the City of Richmond and is the owner of The Expert Consultants. Mullin and his wife, a Petersburg City Public School teacher, share three children. 

He previously campaigned to rebuild and restore the treasurer’s office and reinvest collected and deposited revenue back into the community. A primary goal of his is to collect enough revenue to properly fund Petersburg City Public Schools. 

During his first term, he upgraded Petersburg’s payment portal system to offer more options. He also worked to increase the city’s Rainy Day Fund from $30 million to $55 million. 

Recommendation

Incumbent Paul Mullins faces a challenge from Independent Lacy Ward III. We were unable to find significant information on Independent candidate Lacy Ward III. Due to his continued commitment to increasing revenue collection and increasing the city’s safety net, Incumbent Paul Mullins is a progressive choice.

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


Petersburg is an independent city in central Virginia at the fall line of the Appomattox River, covering about 23 square miles and home to approximately 34,000 residents. In the 2024 presidential election, Petersburg voters overwhelmingly supported the Democratic nominee.

Incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney Tiffany Buckner was appointed as Petersburg’s interim Commonwealth’s Attorney in July of 2020, and she ran unopposed to keep her position later that year. Buckner obtained her bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University and her law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law. She was Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the city of Danville in 2010. She has served as both Senior Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney and Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney for the city of Petersburg. 

As the Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Danville, Buckner chaired the Law Day Committee, which offered middle and high schoolers the opportunity to engage with local attorneys. A member of the Kiwanis Club, Buckner has taken part in community outreach efforts for the children of Petersburg.

Buckner pushes for accountability among law enforcement. After a senior detective was found to have stashed evidence from some of his cases, Buckner requested Virginia State Police to investigate issues surrounding the misplaced evidence in the Petersburg Bureau of Police. She also advised attorneys who worked on cases potentially related to the detective’s negligence. Buckner has also prosecuted cases involving gun violence and murder. 

Recommendation

Tiffany Buckner is running unopposed. Because of her commitment to community and accountability, she is a progressive choice in this race. 

Portions of this recommendation have appeared in earlier versions of the Progressive Voters Guide.