Statewide and municipal elections were held in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

on November 7, 2017. The main election being held in Virginia was the state's gubernatorial election. In addition, all of Virginia's House of Delegates seats were up for re-election.

Primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s for the House of Delegates and the governor were held on June 13, 2017.

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

(D) was elected to become the 73rd

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

Justin Fairfax Justin Edward Fairfax (born February 17, 1979) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the second African-American elected statewide i ...

(D) was elected to become the 41st

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle S ...

, and

Mark Herring Mark Rankin Herring (born September 25, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Attorney General of Virginia from 2014 to 2022. A Democrat, he previously served in the Senate of Virginia since a 2006 special election ...

(D) was reelected as the 47th

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ...

Governor

The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2017 took place on November 7, 2017. Primaries took place on June 13, 2017. The incumbent governor, Democrat

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

, was not eligible to run for re-election due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential ...

established by the

Virginia Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme ...

is the only state that prohibits its governor from serving consecutive terms. The primary elections took place on June 13, 2017. Virginia utilizes an open primary, in which registered voters are allowed to vote in only one party's primary election. Ralph Northam won the election to become the 73rd Governor of Virginia with 53.7% of the popular vote.

Lieutenant Governor

The Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election of 2017 took place on November 7, 2017. The incumbent lieutenant governor, Democrat

, did not seek re-election in order to run for governor. Justin Fairfax won the election to become the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia with 52.7% of the popular vote.

Attorney General

The Virginia Attorney General election of 2017 took place on November 7, 2017. The incumbent attorney general, Democrat

, ran for re-election to a second term. Mark Herring was reelected as the 47th Attorney General of Virginia with 53.3% of the popular vote.

House of Delegates elections

All 100 seats were up for election in November. Notable Races * Danica Roem became the first openly transgender candidate elected to a state legislature in the United States, unseating socially conservative incumbent Bob Marshall. * Chris Hurst, whose girlfriend was murdered on live TV in 2015, was elected to the House of Delegates, defeating incumbent Joseph Yost. * House Majority Whip Jackson Miller was defeated by

Lee Carter Lee Carter may refer to: * Lee Carter (baseball), American baseball player * Lee Carter (comics), British fantasy artist * Lee Carter (''EastEnders''), fictional character *Lee J. Carter (born 1987), member of the Virginia House of Delegates * Vipe ...

, a 30-year-old

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

veteran endorsed by the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

. *

Elizabeth Guzmán Elizabeth Rosalina Guzmán is a Peruvian-American politician and social worker elected to represent Virginia's 31st House of Delegates district in Virginia's House of Delegates. She serves on the House committees on Privileges and Elections an ...

and

Hala Ayala Hala S. Ayala (born 1973) is an American politician who represented the 51st district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2022. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2021 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election, losing to Republ ...

became the first Latina members of the House. * Kathy Tran became the first Asian American woman delegate after defeating Republican Lolita Mancheno-Smoak. *

Dawn Adams Dawn Marie Adams (born November 6, 1964) is an American politician serving as the Delegate from the 68th District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2018. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Adams is a nurse practitioner and small ...

became the first openly lesbian state lawmaker after defeating Republican incumbent, G.M. "Manoli" Loupassi.

Local elections

In an April 18, 2017 special election, Jacqueline Smith was elected Prince William County Clerk of Circuit Court. That she won with an 8-point margin of victory after having been outspent seven-to-one by a politician with greater name recognition was viewed by Republicans as a sign of Democratic momentum. Democratic state senator Jeremy McPike argued that Smith's victory boded well for Democratic turnout in the state election. In a special election in Chesterfield County on November 7th, Jenefer Hughes defeated Republican incumbent Tim McPeters with over 55% of the vote to become the county's next Commissioner of Revenue, marking the first time in over 37 years the post has gone to a Democrat.

References

{{2017 United States elections