LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia endorse first round of 2025 candidates

With Democratic primaries earlier in June determining the nominees on the ballot in November, LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia, the official LGBTQIA+ Caucus of the Democratic Party of Virginia, have endorsed their first round of candidates for the 2025 elections. These endorsements include Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and Jay Jones for Virginia Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General in addition to candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates.

All of the endorsed candidates in this first round completed the caucus’s endorsement questionnaire and were endorsed in previous election cycles. Their endorsement this year was approved by the Executive Board.

“Our hope is that our endorsement signals to voters that these candidates are not just worthy of their vote because they are Democrats but also because of their records and positions on issues important to the LGBTQIA+ community,” explained Joel McDonald, Chairperson of LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia.

Notably, every single endorsed incumbent for the Virginia House of Delegates received a score of 100% on the 2025 Legislative Scorecard from Equality Virginia, a non-partisan organization that advocates and organizes across Virginia to build a future where all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and broader spectrum of people (LGBTQIA+) thrive. By contrast, the average score for Republicans was only 7%.

All other Democratic nominees for the Virginia House of Delegates recently received invitations to complete the caucus’s endorsement questionnaire to be considered for endorsement. Endorsements are considered on the rolling basis at monthly meetings of the Executive Board. In addition to being added to the caucus’s endorsements page on our website, endorsed candidates will also be shared on their Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky feeds. Democratic candidates running for other offices may also complete the questionnaire to be considered for endorsement if they’re the Democratic nominee or have been endorsed by their local Democratic committee.

“With every one of Virginia’s 100 House districts having a Democratic running, our goal is to have as many of these candidates engage with our caucus and be considered for endorsement,” McDonald shared.