RICHMOND, Va. -- Election 2023 might mark the beginning of big changes in Virginia — or potentially maintaining the status quo.
Every seat of the Virginia General Assembly is up for grabs in the November elections, and Democrats' narrow control over the Virginia Senate is currently the only thing blocking Governor Glen Youngkin (R - Virginia) from big-ticket agenda items.
While November elections will ultimately determine that issue, the early voting window for primary elections opened Friday.
Primaries are a method of determining who represents the political party in the general election.
The final day for primary voting is June 20, and early voting continues up until June 17.
Since voters do not have to register with a political party in Virginia, they can vote in the primary of their choosing within their House of Delegates or Senate district, if one is being held.
Voters must pick only one party primary in which to cast a ballot.
There will not be primaries in every district: Republicans and Democrats choose their nominating method and in some districts only one candidate qualified for the ballot or sought the party's nomination.
New legislative maps following redistricting have caused a wave of retirements from the legislature and some intriguing primary match-ups that pit incumbents against each other. This is the first General Assembly election cycle under the new maps, which altered nearly every House and Senate district.
For voters, that means the number of your district potentially changed.
The Virginia Public Access Project has a helpful tool to navigate the new maps (House of Delegates; Senate). You can look up your district and voter information from the Virginia Department of Elections here.
The final day to register to vote ahead of the primary election is May 30. Here's all the info you need from the Virginia Department of Elections.
Across Virginia, 66 counties and cities will be holding at least one primary election.
In metro-Richmond, there are eight primaries in House of Delegates districts and four Senate districts.
Two incumbent House members are involved in primaries in the Richmond-metro.
NOTE: CBS 6 covers news in Central Virginia and counties in the Richmond-metro. For primary information on races in other parts of the Commonwealth, please use the links above.
Virginia Senate Primaries in Central Virginia
- District 12 (Chesterfield, Colonial Heights) - Republican - Sen. Amanda Chase, Tina Ramirez, and Glen Sturtevant
- District 13 (Petersburg, Hopewell, Prince George, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Henrico, Surry, Sussex) - Democrat - Sen. Joe Morrissey and Lashrecse Aird
- District 14 (Richmond, Henrico) - Democrat - Sen. Lamont Bagby and Katie Gooch
- District 17 (Dinwiddie, Emporia, Greensville, Brunswick, Southhampton, Franklin, Chesapeake, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Suffolk) - Republican - Del. Emily Brewer and Herman "Hermie" Sadler III
House of Delegates Primaries in Central Virginia
- District 50 (Charlotte, Mecklenburg, Lunenburg, Halifax, Prince Edward) - Republican - Del. Tommy Wright and John Marsden
- District 57 (Henrico, Goochland) - Democrat - Susanna Gibson and Robert "Bob" Shippee
- District 59 (Henrico, Louisa, Hanover) - Republican - Del. Buddy Fowler, Graven Craig, and Philip Strother
- District 73 (Chesterfield) - Republican - Mark Earley, Ryan Harter, and Yan Gleyzer
- District 79 (Richmond) - Democrat - Rae Cousins, Richard Walker, and Ann-Frances Lambert
- District 80 (Henrico) - Democrat - John Dantzler and Destiny Levere Bolling
- District 81 (Chesterfield, Henrico, Charles City) - Democrat - Del. Delores McQuinn and Terrence Lavell Walker
- District 82 (Petersburg, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Surry) - Democrat - Victor McKenzie and Kimberly Pope Adams
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
