The Democratic Party of Virginia is thrilled to announce our statewide ticket that will lead Democrats to victory in November: former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger for Governor, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor, and former Delegate Jay Jones for Attorney General.

These experienced and principled leaders are champions of Democratic values and fighters for a better future for all Virginians. They will be joined on the ballot by our historic slate of 100 Democratic nominees for the House of Delegates.

Nominee for Governor, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger:
Spanberger secured the Democratic nomination for Governor of Virginia on April, 3, 2025.Spanberger served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 2019 to January 2025. During her three terms in Congress, Spanberger was consistently ranked the most bipartisan Member of Congress from Virginia. Before Congress, Spanberger served as a federal law enforcement officer — working narcotics and money laundering cases. She then served as a CIA case officer — working on counterterrorism and nuclear counterproliferation cases. She and her husband Adam are the proud parents of three school-aged daughters in Virginia public schools.

Nominee for Lieutenant Governor, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi:
Hashmi emigrated with her mother and older brother from India to the United States where they joined her father in Georgia. After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class and receiving multiple full scholarships and fellowships, Ghazala earned a BA with honors from Georgia Southern University and her PhD in American literature from Emory University in Atlanta. Ghazala and her husband, Azhar, moved as newlyweds to the Richmond area in 1991, and she spent nearly 30 years as a professor, first teaching at the University of Richmond and then at Reynolds Community College. While at Reynolds, she also served as the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). First elected to office in November 2019, Ghazala won an upset victory over a Republican incumbent, delivering the majority to Democrats for the first time in years and shocking the political establishment. In 2024, because of the confidence her Democratic colleagues have in her, she was named Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee, a crucial leadership post for two critical Democratic priorities, reproductive freedom and public education.

Nominee for Attorney General, former Delegate Jay Jones:
Jones grew up in Norfolk, raised by Judge Jerrauld C. Jones and Judge Lyn Simmons Jones. After he graduated from College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia School of Law, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, where he was a member of the Office of Consumer Protection. In 2017, he was elected to the House of Delegates, where he protected abortion rights, expanded Medicaid, and gave teachers annual pay raises. He also led the fight on behalf of the Virginia NAACP against the Youngkin-Sears administration to protect voting rights.