Virginia, are you ready?

This November, we aren’t just voting for president! We’re voting for who will lead our local schools, library and township boards and courtrooms. 

Local races have a huge impact on our everyday lives and sometimes are decided by just one or two votes. Really, we’ve seen it happen! That’s why it’s so important for us to get everyone we know to the polls.

During this election cycle, it will be vital for Virginians to elect officials up and down the ballot who will protect our rights.  Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz are leading the fight at the national level to protect our freedoms. The choice is clear which presidential candidate will protect our rights.

Let’s elect candidates who share our values –and send a clear message for what we expect from our elected leaders in 2025 and beyond!!

What’s at Stake this November?

In addition to a national ban, there have been threats made against our access to birth control, IVF, fertility treatments, and miscarriage management. We’ve successfully fought these threats here at the state level, and we will continue to fight for our rights nationally. That’s why we need to send reproductive champions to D.C. to put permanent protections on women’s healthcare in place, so our rights will be guaranteed here and across the country.

One clear way to help protect our reproductive freedoms is to re-elect a proven advocate for women and families to the U.S. Senate, Senator Tim Kaine. Re-electing Senator Kaine will help us keep the majority in the Senate.

Here in Virginia, we can also play a major role in helping to flip the majority in Congress. We are focused on four Congressional seats where we can make the biggest impact in our state. We have the opportunity to flip Congressional District 1, 2 and 5, and hold District 7 to help give Democrats the majority in Congress.

• Leslie Mehta is running to flip District 1. Mehta is a civil rights attorney, focused on protecting the constitutional rights of all Virginians.
• Missy Cotter Smasal is running to flip the seat in District 2 in Hampton Roads. Smasal is a Navy veteran, small business owner, and executive director of a non-profit that honors female veterans.
• Gloria Witt is working hard to flip District 5. Witt got involved because she sees the threats to women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, and the attacks on our freedoms as Virginians. 
• Eugene Vindman is running in Congressional District 7, a seat previously held by Democrat Abigail Spanberger. Vindman is an Army veteran running in Prince William County and it’s vital that we hold this seat.

These races are vital to flipping the U.S. House, and protecting our reproductive rights. All of these candidates are leading with the common sense values we need to ensure the rights of all women and families in our Commonwealth are protected because all Virginians deserve the Freedom to Family.

Extremists are playing politics with our kids’ education — we have to stop extremist school board candidates!

Along with reproductive freedom, our public education system is also at risk. Youngkin has frequently attacked public education, enacting policies that hurt LGBTQ+ students and make our schools less diverse. Our school districts are fighting his policies but they need our help! We have to engage at the school board level, be active in our local community and elect common sense school board candidates that support public education for all children.

School boards play a critical role in our kids’ education. They control the school district budget, hire the superintendent, and enact educational policy. We need to elect school board members who support public education for all children.

Here in Virginia, our school boards are also a line of defense against Governor Youngkin’s extremist education policies. Extremist Republicans are trying to pass off a series of unpopular attacks on public education as “parents’ rights” — and their agenda will undermine teachers, and make our schools less safe and welcoming for Virginia kids. They’re willing to compromise the education of our children just to score partisan points and gain political power, instead of focusing on the most important thing – setting students up for success. Virginia moms know our kids are more important than politics.

All across Virginia there are extremists running for school board. And unfortunately, we’ve already seen what can happen when they get elected. If extremists take over the school boards, Virginia’s public education system is going to start looking a lot like Florida’s.

• Students will lose access to competitive curriculums that set them up for future job opportunities.
• The mental health crisis among students will worsen.
• Schools will lose necessary funds. 
• The potential for deadly school shootings will increase.
• Programs that set kids up for success will end.

We cannot allow an extremist takeover of our public education system. We can prevent it by voting and getting our friends and family to vote. School board elections have a huge impact on our everyday lives and our local communities, but often, they don’t get strong voter turnout. Make sure to elect school board members that represent your values. You can learn more about some of the races below.

Make a plan to vote!

Who’s on the Ballot?

We need to elect common sense candidates who reflect our values — in every race on our ballot. That means voting all the way down the ballot and voting for school board members who will stand up against the loud, extremist minority causing chaos in our schools. It also means electing more Democrats to our state house, to break the extremist Republican majority that doesn’t accurately represent us.

You can find information below about candidates in key local races across the state.

Candidates with a green check mark next to their name have proven that they are aligned with Red Wine & Blue’s values, like support for reproductive freedom, public education, and democracy.

Candidates with a red “x” next to their name are endorsed by extremist groups, have expressed support for extremist policies like abortion bans and book bans, or have otherwise proven that they are not aligned with Red Wine & Blue’s values.

Note: Not all Virginia races are included in this list. Red Wine & Blue is working on the ground in these key races where we have the most ability to impact the outcome of the election. Information about statewide races is included above.

Statewide Race

Congressional District Candidates

Mayoral Races

School Board Candidates