By Brad Kutner

A handful of the nearly 20 candidates for statewide office in Virginia this year were at Virginia’s Department of Elections Monday morning. They were submitting the required number of signatures to get on the 2025 primary ballot.

“Please welcome the next governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia… Abigail Spanberger!” shouted a campaign volunteer announcing Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Abigail Spanberger on stage at a party for the candidate Monday.

Spanberger is one of the 18 candidates for Virginia’s statewide offices – that’s governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general – according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. Monday was the first day they could submit signatures to get on the ballot. And some, including Spanberger, personally delivered the paperwork to the state board of elections office.

“The bottom line is people want an effectiveness in governance and they want a governor who’s attuned to the challenges that they’re facing and focused on actually addressing them,” Spanberger said of what she heard from voters while collecting signatures.

Current Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears was the only GOP gubernatorial hopeful to submit signatures Monday. In a phone interview, she said voters want to keep more money in their pockets and…

“They want jobs to be created, they don’t want foolishness, and they don’t like this continuous divisive stuff,” Earle-Sears told Radio IQ. “Everything is ‘racism this, racism that;’ it’s not.”

Spanberger submitted twice the number of signatures that Sears did — 40,000 to 20,000. But University of Mary Washington Political Science professor Steven Farnsworth said that may speak more to Virginia Republicans’ preference for conventions and other systems to pick their nominees instead of an open primary; they just don’t have the signature collection infrastructure that Democrats do. But he doesn’t think the number of signatures is all that important anyway.

“Votes in November do not correspond to the number of signatures collected in March. What is important is that the campaign is ready to go,” Farnsworth said. “It’s clear that the Democrats are not going to phone this election in.”

Former Senator Amanda Chase and former Delegate Dave LaRock are two other GOP gubernatorial hopefuls. Neither submitted signatures Monday, but both said they were working to meet the April 3rd deadline in statements sent to Radio IQ.

“The stories of people excited about my run for governor have been so incredibly inspiring of passionate volunteers who want a governor who will get things done like President Trump has done at the national level,” Chase wrote.

LaRock, meanwhile, dinged Sears for having the support of Governor Youngkin but still falling short of a tidal wave of signatories.

“Lieutenant Governor Sears is the heir apparent designated by the current governor. She has all the advantages, but her campaign so far doesn’t reflect that,” LaRock told Radio IQ.

In the attorney general race, both Democratic hopefuls — former Delegate Jay Jones and Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor — submitted their signatures Monday.

Jones told Radio IQ voters are scared of what the Trump administration is bringing them on a daily basis, “whether it be high prices, uncertainty for their paychecks and their families.”

Taylor said national issues plagued her voters, too. She pointed to her background, successfully prosecuting Ku Klux Klan members and other hate groups, as giving her the experience she’ll need to fight Trump.

“Knowing I’m not afraid to go after and push back on terrible policies that are hurting Virginias,” she said. “People want to hear a candidate say they’ll do something, and that’s what I’m able to tell voters.”

Current Attorney General Jason Miyares also submitted his required number of signatures, but a spokesperson from his campaign declined to comment and requests sent to the AG’s press office were not returned.

Two of the seven Democrat candidates for lieutenant governor dropped their signatures in person.

State Senator Ghazala Hashmi said federal issues also topped voters’ concerns, “including the firing of thousands and thousands of federal workers,” and Trump’s effort to shutter the Department of Education.

Former U.S. attorney Victor Salgado is also a lieutenant governor hopeful. He said his experience in the federal anti-corruption office would help him push back on Trump.

“I’ve stood up to Trump already as a federal prosecutor,” he told Radio IQ.

Two other Democratic lieutenant governor hopefuls — Prince William County School Board member Babur Lateef and state Senator Aaron Rouse — also submitted their signatures Monday via campaign staffers.

Republican lieutenant governor hopeful and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors member Pat Herrity submitted his signatures Monday. He’s currently undergoing treatment for a “hereditary heart condition that many in [his] family have fought successfully,” according to a statement posted on social media.

Former talk radio host and lieutenant governor hopeful John Reid submitted 12 signatures Monday. He called it a “partial submission,” but promised to submit the rest before the deadline.

“[Voters] want a reasonable and responsible, assertive leader in this role, and I’m trying to show that I’ll work harder than any other candidates in Virginia to earn their vote,” he told Radio IQ in a text message.

Party candidates have until April 3rd to get their signatures filed. Virginia’s primaries happen June 17 with early voting starting in May.

See the full list of gubernatorial candidates via VPAP here, lieutenant governor here and attorney general here.