Let’s Start the New Year Right with a Win

Virginia holds special elections on January 7 2025. Just like in 2017, Virginia will have one of the first elections after a Trump win.

By Robbin Warner

The first special elections of the new year are on January 7, 2025 in Virginia. With Democrats holding a one-seat majority in both the Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates, this special election will determine which party holds control of the state legislature. As we face the adversity of the incoming Trump administration and federal GOP trifecta, these special elections will serve as a bellwether for the strength of Democrats as we regroup and rise up as the opposition party.

There are three races on the ballot on January 7.

Virginia House Delegate Kannan Srinivasan is running for Senate Seat 32, which was vacated when Suhas Subramanyam won the election for Congressional District 10. Delegate Srinivasan made history as the first Indian-American immigrant ever elected to the Virginia House, where he has proven himself a champion for the commonwealth’s working families. He is the former chair of the Virginia State Medicaid Board. He has strong local support.

The second race is for the newly vacated HD26. JJ Singh is the Democratic candidate for this seat. Singh was born and raised in Northern Virginia and has served in the Peace Corps in Bolivia, within the Obama Administration’s Budget Office, and as a senior policy advisor to U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE).

SD32 and HD26 are in Loudoun County, one of the fastest growing suburbs of burgeoning Northern Virginia. It is considered a strong Democratic territory. And yet, Loudoun has become ground zero in Northern Virginia for the right wing Republican shenanigans of trying to tear down Democracy one institution at a time. Loudoun was one of the first places in Virginia where book-banning reared its ugly head, with outside agitators disrupting school board meetings. It is also where Republicans regularly engage in dirty tricks like infiltrating the local Democratic Committee’s sign-up form in 2022 for election day poll work by filling all volunteer slots with bogus names. Fortunately, the local Dems discovered the ruse in time. They were able to put a shout-out for help and volunteers came in to fill the slots.

“People in Loudoun are tired, burnt out and still raw from the election,” says Renise Leresche, long-time Loudoun grassroots activist. “Good thing we have dedicated volunteers who do this year after year. Our county and neighbors matter to us so we press on.”

The third race is for SD10, one of those disjointed districts that covers a large geographic area spanning many suburban and rural counties. Jack Trammell, a professor of sociology who previously ran for Congress in 2014, is is the Democratic candidate. Though running in this Republican district is a long shot, especially with only a few weeks to campaign, having a strong candidate in this district gives the locals hope, someone to rally around, and plants blue seeds for future Democratic wins.

Maintaining the Democratic majority is critical for passing three constitutional amendments in Virginia. The amendments would enshrine abortion access protections into the constitution, remove a prohibition on same-sex marriage, and create an automatic process for formerly incarcerated people with felony convictions to have their rights restored.

For these amendments to appear on the ballot in 2026, they must be passed by the General Assembly in 2025 and again in 2026.

As Virginia Senate Majority leader Scott Surovell wrote in his email to constituents: “Virginia's upcoming special elections in Loudoun County aren’t just about filling two seats. They’re about protecting everything we’ve fought for — from abortion rights to voting rights.”

Because of the short turn around for this election occurring at the heels of the holiday season, here is a short and focused list of ways you can help.

• Phone Bank and Texting - A list of opportunities is available at this Mobilize page.

• Door Knocking - If you want to go to Loudoun and help directly by knocking doors, email Laura Reynolds (laurareynolds@gmail.com), Loudoun Dems Precinct Opps Chair. She will direct you to the most impactful canvassing opportunities.

• Postcarding - The window for postcard writing is almost over. All cards need to be in the mail by Dec. 26 to arrive the first week of January. If you can handle the short turnaround time, sign up to write with Postcards4VA.

It’s déjà vu all over again. Just like in 2017, Virginia will have one of the first elections after a Trump win. “Fortifying the Democratic firewall in the states has never been more important,” says DLCC director Heather Williams. “That work once again starts in Virginia.”

Let’s start the new year right with a win!

Robbin Warner

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