Richmond Mayor Stoney drops Virginia governor bid, will run for lieutenant governor

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced Tuesday he is dropping his bid for Virginia governor in 2025, avoiding a nomination contest with U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, and will instead run for lieutenant governor.

A former member of ex-Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration and a two-term mayor of the capital city, Stoney said he had wrestled with the decision since he and his wife welcomed their first child in March. While his campaign had sought to make the case in a memo just weeks ago that a Stoney-Spanberger primary would be competitive, he said Tuesday that “while there was a path to victory it was a narrow path.”

“After careful consideration with my family, I believe that the best way to ensure that all Virginia families do get the change they deserve is for our party to come together, avoid a costly and damaging primary and, for me to run instead for Lieutenant Governor,” Stoney said in a statement.

With the gubernatorial primary still more than a year away, there’s still time for another Democratic candidate to emerge. But Spanberger, a former CIA officer who launched her campaign in November, is seen by Democrats and Republicans alike as a formidable candidate, with strong name recognition, a record of winning tough races and a centrist identity in a state that’s tended to reward moderate candidates. Her bid could also be a history-making one: Virginia has never had a female governor.

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