Election season in Virginia is packed with so many events, rallies, speeches and more that it’s impossible for any one person to be at all of them.
But VPM News photographer Shaban Athuman comes closer than just about anyone who is not actually running for office.
As Election Day nears, Shaban is bringing you along on the campaign trail, capturing the key moments on the road to a new state administration.
Stay tuned for several updates leading up to Election Day, which is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Sunday, Nov. 2
The Republican ticket gathered in front of the Hanover County Administration Building to make its final pitch, with an assist from Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Lieutenant governor candidate John Reid continued to attack his Democratic counterpart, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D–Chesterfield) for refusing to debate him. Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is running for re-election, attacked his challenger — former Norfolk Del. Jay Jones — for his inexperience.
GOP in Hanover
Saturday, Nov. 1
As the campaign wound to a close, former President Barack Obama joined former Congresswoman and current Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger on the trail in Norfolk.
Inside a celebratory rally at Chartway Arena, the Democratic ticket linked their opponents to the policies and actions of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Thursday, Oct. 9
Thursday night at Norfolk State University, Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears faced off in this year’s sole gubernatorial debate.
REPRO Rising Virginia, an advocacy group that defends abortion access in the commonwealth, and pro-LGBTQ+ organization Equality Virginia hosted a watch party at the Brambly Park winery in Scott’s Addition with some of their members. As they watched along, they played a game of debate bingo, with cards that included hot-button issues between the candidates.
While discussing energy policy, Earle-Sears said, ”My opponent’s only plan is solar and wind. Well, what happens when the sun goes down?” That led Tani Washington — who was sitting next to her mother, Carol — everyone else in the room to burst into laughter.
Tuesday, Oct. 7
On Tuesday, Del. Carrie Coyner (R–Chesterfield) started her work day at the General Assembly Building and ended at her daughter’s field hockey game. Coyner has outraised her Democratic challenger, Lindsey Dougherty, by over $350,000, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Coyner has won her district by an average of more than 3,000 votes in her last three elections.
Coyner attended the Thomas Dale–Matoaca field hockey game to watch her daughter Delaney, along with her parents and several other community members. The game went into two overtimes, prompting the gathered fans to try to figure out in real time how the sport’s overtime rules worked.
Thomas Dale scored a surprise winning goal with less than two minutes remaining in the second overtime. Coyner and the rest of the Dale fans nearly leapt to their feet with excitement.
Thursday, Oct. 2
On Thursday, Del. Joshua Cole (D–Stafford) prepared to face his Republican challenger for the 65th House District — Sean Steinway, a deputy with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Department and a former US Marine and DEA agent — on the debate stage at the Dodd Auditorium at the University of Mary Washington.
The 65th District is centered on the City of Fredericksburg — home to many government contractors, particularly in the aerospace and defense industries — so the federal government shutdown was a key topic for both candidates.
“The closure of the federal government,” Cole said, “is due to a failure in leadership in Washington, DC.”
“It now is the responsibility of the state government to step up when the federal government is failing.”
Steinway, who said he lost his job during the last federal shutdown in 2018–19, echoed the sentiment that the shutdown puts the state in a hard spot — but offered a different view of how to take care of Virginians: “We need to create more jobs in our district. We need to create more jobs in Virginia to help out our people.”
HD65 Debate
Saturday, Sept. 27
With a clipboard (adorned with a “Bernie 2020” sticker) in hand, Jonas Eppert — the Democratic nominee in the 74th House District — braved the rain and knocked on his neighbors’ doors, trying to convince them to vote for him in a race against incumbent Del. Mike Cherry (R–Chesterfield).
Cherry holds a significant fundraising advantage, outraising Eppert $153,387 to $29,091 through the end of August, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Eppert talked to voters talked about the economy and three proposed amendments to the state constitution, which would enshrine abortion access and marriage equality and automatically restore voting rights to people who have completed felony sentences in the commonwealth. Those amendments passed the General Assembly earlier this year, but need to be voted on again in 2026 before they can be put on the ballot for voters.
As the rain poured on, Eppert met a voter who had been following him on Instagram and assured him that she’s already a supporter. He thanked her and ran to his car to take cover from the intensifying rain.
Friday, Sept. 19
Both Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Reid showed up to the Western Government Center in Henrico County to cast their ballots on the first day of early voting.
Reid briefly crashed Spanberger’s press conference. After exchanging remarks, the two candidates assured each other that they did not vote for each other.
As of Monday, more than 65,000 Virginians had cast their votes, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project. More than 60,000 of those ballots were done in person, while nearly 4,700 were mailed in. Early voting ends on Nov. 1, the Saturday before Election Day.
Candidate Reid crashes Spanberger’s press conference
The Republican ticket touted their experience and unique backgrounds, praised outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin and took a moment to honor and pray for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
GOP Ticket together
VPM News Editor Sean McGoey and Managing Editor Dawnthea M. Price Lisco contributed editing.
