RICHMOND, Va. — With a little over 200 days until Virginians select the 75th governor of the Commonwealth, it is already shaping up to be a historic election as all potential options left for voters are women.
Thursday was the deadline for candidates to submit paperwork and the required number of signatures to the Virginia State Board of Elections.
Candidates for the statewide offices of governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general had to collect at least 10,000 signatures with at least 400 from each of Virginia's congressional districts and file them with the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBOE). It is then up to the state Democratic and Republican parties to verify the signatures.
Governor
Since Virginia does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is not in the running this November.
On the Democratic side, SBOE said former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger was the only candidate to file and her signatures have already been verified by the Democratic Party of Virginia and will be the party's nominee in November.
On the Republican side, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears has been verified and will be on the ballot as well. However, while former Delegate Dave LaRock said he was unable to collect the necessary number of signatures, former State Senator Amanda Chase announced she submitted her signatures on Thursday.
The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) has not announced whether Chase's signatures have been verified and she will be on the ballot.
Watch: What contested primary could mean for candidates in Virginia's gubernatorial race
Lieutenant Governor
It's a similar situation for Republicans for the lieutenant governor primary. The party said it has verified the signatures of Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity. But it has not announced signature verification for two other candidates — Navy veteran John Curran, Jr. and former radio host John Reid.
On the Democratic side, DPV said they have verified the signatures of the six candidates who filed and they will be on the ballot. In alphabetical order, they are union leader and attorney Alex Bastani, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef, State Senator Aaron Rouse, former federal prosecutor Victor Salgado, and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.
Attorney General
For the position of attorney general, incumbent Jason Miyares is running uncontested on the Republican side, and the party said it has verified his signatures.
While on the Democratic side, the DPV said it has verified the signatures for the two candidates who filed: former Delegate Jay Jones and Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor.
What's Next
The SBOE will release the official list of candidates, including the Virginia House of Delegates where all 100 seats are on the ballot, the week of April 14.
The primary is June 17 and early voting begins on May 2.
The general election is on November 4 and early voting begins on September 19.
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