Richmond, Virginia—Turnout in the Virginia Democratic primary election this year crushed  all previous records; more than 200,000 early votes were cast, 130,000 more than the previous record for early votes set in 2023.  The result of that record-breaking turnout? Progressive successes up and down the ballot. 

“Last night’s results prove what we’ve always known: when more Virginians make their voices heard, progressive values win,” said LaTwyla Mathias, Executive Director at Progress Virginia. “From reproductive freedom to housing justice to corporate accountability, voters showed up in record numbers to choose candidates who will fight for a more just and equitable Commonwealth.”

Here’s a not-at-all comprehensive list of some progressive victories from last night:

• Senator Ghazala Hashmi, a career educator who has advocated for the right to contraception and reproductive freedom, adequate funding for K-12 education, and affordable housing, triumphed over former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and State Senator Aaron Rouse in the race for Lieutenant Governor. 
• Progressive candidates won at every level: Newport News assistant city attorney Shannon Jones beat a 35 year incumbent in the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney race; May Nivar, an immigrant who grew up in low-income housing and became a champion for a fair economy in the General Assembly won reelection; Sally Duncan, a teacher and a renter in punishingly expensive Albemarle County who has advocated for progressive housing policies in the region, became the Democratic nominee for Board of Supervisors in her overwhelmingly Democratic district.
• Dominion Energy-backed candidate for Attorney General, Shannon Taylor, lost to former Delegate Jay Jones. The Attorney General serves as a regulator working in the public interest for corporations, including Dominion, the massive energy conglomerate that provides power to much of the Commonwealth. Dominion has aggressively leveraged its immense wealth to support candidates who favor loose energy regulation, and they spent a whopping $800,000 in the Taylor-Jones race, the most ever spent by a utility company on behalf of a single candidate. Jones beat Taylor 51-49%.