2021 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election
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The 2021 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the next lieutenant governor of Virginia. Incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax was eligible to run for a second term, but instead unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.[1] On November 3, Hala Ayala conceded the race,[2] making Republican Winsome Sears the first black woman to be elected to the lieutenant governorship of Virginia or any statewide office, as well as the first woman elected lieutenant governor in Virginia's history. Sears was also the first Jamaican-American to become a lieutenant governor.
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Sears: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Ayala: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Summarize
Perspective
Candidates
Nominee
- Hala Ayala, member of the Virginia House of Delegates[3][4]
Eliminated in primary
- Mark Levine, member of the Virginia House of Delegates and former candidate for Virginia's 8th congressional district in 2014[5]
- Andria McClellan, Norfolk city councilwoman[6]
- Sean Perryman, president of the Fairfax County, Virginia NAACP[7]
- Sam Rasoul, member of the Virginia House of Delegates and nominee for Virginia's 6th congressional district in 2008[8]
- Xavier Warren, sports agent[3][9]
Withdrawn
- Paul Goldman, former chair of the Virginia Democratic Party[10]
- Elizabeth Guzmán, member of the Virginia House of Delegates[11] (ran for re-election)
- Kellen Squire, nurse[12]
Declined
- Justin Fairfax, incumbent lieutenant governor (ran for governor)[13]
Endorsements
Hala Ayala
- Governor
- Ralph Northam, incumbent Governor of Virginia[14]
State delegates
- Joshua G. Cole (D-28), withdrawn, subsequently endorsed Rasoul[15][16]
- Eileen Filler-Corn (D-41), Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates[14]
- Charniele Herring (D-46), Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates and former Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia[14]
- Clint Jenkins (D-76)[15]
- Danica Roem (D-13)[15]
Organizations
- EMILY's List[17]
- Moms Demand Action (co-endorsed with McClellan, Perryman, Rasoul, and Warren)[18]
Mark Levine
Andria McClellan
Federal officials
- Elaine Luria, U.S. Representative (VA-02)[21]
State senators
- Lynwood Lewis (D-6)[22]
- Dave W. Marsden (D-37)[23]
Individuals
- Karen Jackson, former Virginia Secretary of Technology[24]
- Glenn Nye, former U.S. Representative (VA-02)[25]
Organizations
- Moms Demand Action (co-endorsed with Ayala, Perryman, Rasoul, and Warren)[18]
Sean Perryman
- State delegates
Local officials
- Walter Alcorn, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[27]
- Steve Descano, Fairfax County, Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney[28]
- John Foust, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[28]
- Rodney Lusk, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[27]
- Jeff McKay, Chair, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[27]
- Dalia Palchik, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[27]
- Phyllis Randall, Chair, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors[29]
- Kathy Smith, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[27]
- James Walkinshaw, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[27]
Individuals
- Sharon Bulova, former chair, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors[27]
Organizations
- Moms Demand Action (co-endorsed with Ayala, McClellan, Rasoul, and Warren)[18]
- Our Black Party[30]
Sam Rasoul
Federal officials
- Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts[31]
State delegates
- Lashrecse Aird (D-63)[32]
- Joshua G. Cole (D-28)[16]
- Dan Helmer (D-40)[33]
- Sally L. Hudson (D-57)[33]
- Marcia Price (D-95)[32]
- Ibraheem Samirah (D-86)[32]
- Suhas Subramanyam (D-87)[32]
- Kathy Tran (D-42)[34]
State senators
Individuals
- Rick Boucher, former U.S. Representative (VA-9)[32]
- Mary Sue Terry, former Attorney General of Virginia[36]
Organizations
- CASA in Action[37]
- Democracy For America[32]
- Moms Demand Action (co-endorsed with Ayala, McClellan, Perryman, and Warren)[18]
- Our Revolution[32]
- Sunrise Movement[38][39]
Newspapers
Xavier Warren
- Organizations
- Moms Demand Action (co-endorsed with Ayala, McClellan, Perryman, and Rasoul)[18]
Elizabeth Guzman (withdrawn)
- State delegates
- Paul Krizek (D-44)[41]
- Alfonso Lopez (D-49),[41] subsequently endorsed Hala Ayala
- Ibraheem Samirah (D-86),[41] subsequently endorsed Sam Rasoul[32]
Organizations
- CASA in Action,[42] subsequently endorsed Sam Rasoul[37]
Polling
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Hala Ayala | Elizabeth Guzman | Mark Levine | Andria McClellan | Sean Perryman | Sam Rasoul | Xavier Warren | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roanoke College[43] | May 24 – June 1, 2021 | 637 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 16% | 3% | 7% | 7% | 3% | 11% | 2% | – | 45% |
Christopher Newport University[44] | April 11–20, 2021 | 806 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 12% | 2% | 1% | 64% |
Results

Ayala
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
Rasoul
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
Levine
- 30–40%
Warren
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Hala Ayala | 181,168 | 37.64% | |
Democratic | Sam Rasoul | 116,816 | 24.27% | |
Democratic | Mark Levine | 53,735 | 11.16% | |
Democratic | Andria McClellan | 51,015 | 10.60% | |
Democratic | Sean Perryman | 38,925 | 8.09% | |
Democratic | Xavier Warren | 19,909 | 4.13% | |
Democratic | Elizabeth Guzmán (withdrawn) | 19,803 | 4.11% | |
Total votes | 481,365 | 100.00% |
Republican convention
Summarize
Perspective
After months of uncertainty, the Republican Party of Virginia State Central Committee decided to hold an "unassembled convention" to select their nominees for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, as opposed to holding a state run primary. The convention was held May 8 using ranked choice voting.[46]
Candidates
Nominated at convention
- Winsome Sears, former member of the Virginia House of Delegates (2002–2004), nominee for Virginia's 3rd congressional district in 2004 and write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018[47]
Defeated at convention
Endorsements
Results

Virginia GOP Convention, Lieutenant Governor nominee[51] | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | |||||
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
Winsome Sears | 4,075.68 | 32.5% | 4,300.11 | 34.3% | 4,626.70 | 36.9% | 5,425.91 | 43.2% | 6,827.89 | 54.4% |
Tim Hugo | 2,824.17 | 22.5% | 2,987.20 | 23.8% | 3,184.76 | 25.4% | 3,816.11 | 30.4% | 5,726.11 | 45.6% |
Glenn Davis | 2,536.77 | 20.2% | 2,675.44 | 21.3% | 2,838.05 | 22.6% | 3,311.97 | 26.4% | Eliminated | |
Lance Allen | 1,538.80 | 12.3% | 1701.82 | 13.6% | 1,904.50 | 15.2% | Eliminated | |||
Puneet Ahluwalia | 818.95 | 6.5% | 889.43 | 7.1% | Eliminated | |||||
Maeve Rigler | 759.62 | 6.1% | Eliminated | |||||||
General election
Summarize
Perspective
Endorsements
Hala Ayala (D)
Federal officials
- Joe Biden, President of the United States (2021–present)[52]
- Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (2021–present)[53]
- Barack Obama, former President of the United States (2009–2017)[54]
State officials
- Ralph Northam, Governor of Virginia (2018–2022)[14]
U.S. Senators
- Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota (2007–present)[55]
- Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia (2009–present)[56]
U.S. Representatives
- Don Beyer, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 8th congressional district (2015–present) and 36th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (1990–1998)[55]
- Elaine Luria, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 2nd congressional district (2019–2023)[56]
- Lauren Underwood, U.S. Representative for Illinois's 14th congressional district (2019–present)[56]
State legislators
- Joshua G. Cole, state delegate from the 28th district (2020–2022)[15][16]
- Eileen Filler-Corn, state delegate from the 41st district (2010–present) and Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates (2020–present)[14]
- Charniele Herring, state delegate from the 46th district (2009–present), Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates (2020–2022), and former Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia (2012–2014)[14]
- Clint Jenkins, state delegate from the 76th district (2020–present)[15]
- Danica Roem, state delegate from the 13th district (2018–present)[15]
Individuals
- Blake Cooper Griffin, actor[57]
- Jaime Harrison, Chair of the Democratic National Committee (2021–present)[58]
Organizations
Winsome Sears (R)
Federal officials
- Ben Carson, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2017–2021)[62]
- Ken Cuccinelli, Principal Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (2019–2021), Attorney General of Virginia (2010–2014), and nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2013[63]
State officials
- Mark Earley, former Attorney General of Virginia (1998–2001) and former state senator from the 14th district (1988–1997)[64]
U.S. Senators
- Tim Scott, U.S. Senator from South Carolina (2013–present)[65]
U.S. Representatives
- Ben Cline, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 6th congressional district (2019–present)[66]
- Dan Crenshaw, U.S. Representative for Texas's 2nd congressional district (2019–present)[67]
- Bob Good, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 5th congressional district (2021–2025) [68]
State legislators
- Amanda Chase, state senator from the 11th district (2016–present)[69]
- Dave LaRock, state delegate from the 33rd district (2014–present)[64]
- Tommy Norment, state senator from the 3rd district (1992–present) and Minority Leader of the Virginia Senate (2020–present)[70]
Individuals
- E. W. Jackson, bishop, attorney, and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2013[71]
Organizations
Polling
Graphical summary
![]() | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Hala Ayala (D) |
Winsome Sears (R) |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Trafalgar Group (R)[80] | October 29–31, 2021 | 1,081 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 47% | 50% | 1% | 2% |
Echelon Insights (R)[81] | October 27–29, 2021 | 611 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 46% | 48% | – | 6% |
Roanoke College[82] | October 14–28, 2021 | 571 (LV) | ± 4.7% | 46% | 44% | 0% | 10% |
The Washington Post/Schar School[83] | October 20–26, 2021 | 1,107 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 48% | 44% | 3%[b] | 3% |
918 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 50% | 46% | 1%[c] | 3% | ||
Christopher Newport University[84] | October 17–25, 2021 | 944 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 49% | 48% | – | 3% |
Suffolk University[85] | October 21–24, 2021 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 46% | 44% | – | 10% |
co/efficient (R)[86][A] | October 20–21, 2021 | 785 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 46% | 47% | – | 7% |
Cygnal (R)[87] | October 19–21, 2021 | 816 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 47% | 47% | – | 6% |
Virginia Commonwealth University[88] | October 9–21, 2021 | 722 (LV) | ± 6.4% | 36% | 35% | 16% | 13% |
Data for Progress (D)[89] | October 4–15, 2021 | 1,589 (LV) | ± 2.0% | 47% | 42% | 3% | 8% |
Christopher Newport University[90] | September 27 – October 6, 2021 | 802 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 48% | 44% | – | 8% |
Roanoke College[91] | September 12–26, 2021 | 603 (LV) | ± 4.6% | 45% | 40% | 1% | 14% |
KAConsulting LLC (R)[92][B] | September 17–19, 2021 | 700 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 34% | 24% | 3% | 40% |
Virginia Commonwealth University[93] | September 7–15, 2021 | 731 (LV) | ± 6.9% | 33% | 30% | 20% | 16% |
University of Mary Washington[94] | September 7–13, 2021 | 1,000 (A) | ± 3.1% | 38% | 38% | 6%[d] | 18% |
528 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 41% | 47% | 2%[e] | 10% | ||
Monmouth University[95] | August 24–29, 2021 | 802 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 43% | 42% | 2% | 14% |
Christopher Newport University[96] | August 15–23, 2021 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.6% | 52% | 42% | 1% | 6% |
Roanoke College[97] | August 3–17, 2021 | 558 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 42% | 36% | 2% | 20% |
Virginia Commonwealth University[98] | August 4–15, 2021 | 770 (RV) | ± 5.4% | 38% | 31% | 19% | 12% |
~747 (LV) | ± 5.5% | 39% | 31% | 17% | 12% | ||
JMC Analytics and Polling (R)[99] | June 9–12, 2021 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 42% | 36% | – | 22% |
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Winsome Sears | 1,658,332 | 50.71% | +3.53% | |
Democratic | Hala Ayala | 1,608,030 | 49.17% | −3.54% | |
Write-in | 3,807 | 0.12% | +0.03% | ||
Total votes | 3,270,169 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Registered electors | 5,951,368 | ||||
Republican gain from Democratic |
By congressional district
Sears won 6 of 11 congressional districts, including two that were represented by Democrats.[101]
District | Ayala | Sears | Representative |
---|---|---|---|
1st | 41% | 59% | Rob Wittman |
2nd | 46% | 54% | Elaine Luria |
3rd | 62% | 38% | Bobby Scott |
4th | 57% | 43% | Donald McEachin |
5th | 40% | 60% | Bob Good |
6th | 34% | 66% | Ben Cline |
7th | 45% | 55% | Abigail Spanberger |
8th | 73% | 27% | Don Beyer |
9th | 26% | 74% | Morgan Griffith |
10th | 52% | 47% | Jennifer Wexton |
11th | 67% | 33% | Gerry Connolly |
See also
Notes
Partisan clients
References
External links
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