Stoney calls Spanberger 'very formidable candidate' after leaving governor's race

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney may have spared Virginia Democrats a costly primary fight , but his quick exit from the governor's race raises the temperature in the escalating competition for the lieutenant governor's nomination next year.

Stoney's departure clears the field for Rep. Abigail Spanberger , D-7th, who had raised too much money and developed too high a political profile for the two-term mayor to overcome, even 14 months before a party primary that would have forced him to defeat the three-term congresswoman in a likely one-on-one matchup.

"It wasn't inevitable that he would withdraw," said Larry Sabato, president of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "It was inevitable that he would not succeed."

On Dec. 4 Mayor Levar Stoney announced he was running for governor. On Tuesday he announced he was dropping out to run for lieutenant governor.

In a telephone interview on Friday, Stoney acknowledged, "Abigail Spanberger is a very formidable candidate."

"It would have been a grueling, negative race, and that is not what you want to ensure we elect a Democrat as governor," he said. "I believe Abigail Spanberger will be a great nominee for us and a great governor as well."

Stoney said he has "no regrets" about initially running for governor instead of lieutenant governor, as some Democrats urged him to do before his announcement in early December.

"There were a number of people who tried to guide me to lieutenant governor early on, but I had to come to that decision myself," he said.

However , Stoney's decision to jump immediately into the lieutenant governor's race put some of his closest allies in a difficult position.

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Stoney's political mentor, already had committed to another candidate for the post, Dr. Babur Lateef, school board chairman in vote-rich Prince William County. Powerful Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, is backing Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, for the No. 2 post. It won't get any easier for Stoney if Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, jumps into the race in the coming days, putting Richmond and its suburbs up for grabs in the 2025 Democratic primary.

Stoney said: "I recognize that some people were caught off guard, but at the end of the day, I had to make a decision that was best for me and my family, and the Democratic Party, as well as the commonwealth of Virginia."

Spanberger won't endorse for LG

Stoney will not get any help from Spanberger, who reportedly declined his request for an endorsement before he announced his decision to withdraw and run for lieutenant governor.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, is not endorsing Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney or any other hopeful for lieutenant governor.

"There are strong and experienced Virginians who have made the decision to run for the Democratic nomination for Virginia's next lieutenant governor," said Spanberger spokesman Connor Joseph. "Abigail has previously told candidates that she would not endorse in this primary race, and she intends to maintain that position."

Stoney confirmed that he discussed a possible endorsement with Spanberger. "We both decided that she would run her campaign and I would run my campaign," he said. "I think this is the best path forward for both of us."

In the crowded field for lieutenant governor, Stoney might have some advantages, with money in the bank - $688,000 at the end of last year - and a head start on campaigning statewide. "Levar doesn't have Abigail's name recognition, but he probably has more name recognition statewide than Aaron Rouse or Ghazala Hashmi," said Henrico Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, a close friend and ally of the mayor.

Stoney has already rolled out a list of endorsements that includes three newly elected Democratic delegates from Northern Virginia who support Spanberger for governor.

"He has a path that includes central Virginia and Northern Virginia and pretty much across the state," Nelson said. "Levar has been building relationships out of the major urban areas."

Longtime allies fear distraction

Some Democrats are concerned that the focus on Virginia's three statewide races - 14 months before party primaries to choose nominees - has become a distraction from this year's high-stakes elections.

President Joe Biden is likely to face a strong push by former President Donald Trump to compete in a state that the Republican lost by 10 percentage points in 2020. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., will seek to defend his seat against a Republican nominee whom voters will choose in a primary on June 18. Voters also will choose nominees in congressional districts, including Spanberger's, that could determine majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

A day after Lateef posted on social media a photo with McAuliffe and said was "honored to have his support," Stoney posted his own message saying he was honored to have McAuliffe's endorsement. A McAuliffe spokeswoman explained the awkward development by saying McAuliffe is supporting both Democrats.

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, right, a longtime mentor to Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, endorsed him for governor in December. With Stoney's switch to run for lieutenant governor, McAuliffe is backing two candidates for the No. 2 spot.

In a text message to the Richmond Times-Dispatch in response to questions about Stoney's withdrawal, McAuliffe said only: "From now until Election Day 2024, my sole focus is reelecting Joe Biden and (Vice-President) Kamala Harris. That's all I have to say."

Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, is a close friend of Stoney, but he's also an ally of Rouse and a colleague of Hashmi. He said he has not endorsed anyone in the nomination contest for lieutenant governor.

"At this time, I'm going to let them sort things out and see how the next year goes," Bagby said. "I won't say it's premature, but it is pretty early in the process."

Republicans ponder next moves

The feverish preparation by Virginia Democrats for next year's statewide races also has upped pressure on state Republicans. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares have not yet tipped their hands about plans to run for governor - or not - making it tough for other Republicans who might be interested in running for their current state offices. Unlike a governor, Virginia's lieutenant governor and attorney general have the option of seeking a second consecutive term.

Attorney General Jason Miyares and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, two potential GOP candidates for governor in 2025, greet each other on the steps of the Virginia Capitol on Sept. 14, before Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the revised state budget.

"Spanberger is out of the starting gate," state Republican Party Chairman Rich Anderson said. "Several other Democrats are out of the starting gate for lieutenant governor."

Anderson also expects former Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, to make for his second run at the Democratic nomination for attorney general. Anderson sees likely competition for the Democratic nomination from Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor and, possibly, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano.

The outcome of the presidential election could affect how the Republican field takes shape, he said, but ultimately potential GOP candidates are waiting on Earle-Sears and Miyares.

"I don't think you would see a challenge come from within the party," he said.

Struggle for traction

In his statement that he was dropping out of the race for governor, Stoney said that "while there was a path to victory, it was a narrow path."

Anderson saw Stoney's departure from the governor's race as inevitable.

"I am not surprised that he made the decision to drop out because you could just look at the dynamics that have unfolded so far," Anderson said. "He just really did not have any traction."

Rich Anderson, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney "did not have any traction" in his bid for governor.

Spanberger began with a sizable financial advantage, with $3.6 million raised and $3 million in the bank at the end of 2023. Stoney had raised $758,000, with $688,000 in the bank on Dec. 31. Updated fundraising numbers will not become public until mid-July, but Spanberger's advantage has grown, according to sources within the campaigns.

The biggest blow may have been Spanberger's endorsement by Clean Virginia, a deep-pocketed Charlottesville-based political and environmental advocacy organization that also promised her an "initial" $250,000 contribution. Stoney knew Spanberger was likely to get the endorsement, but he competed hard for it. The decision may have secured the congresswoman's left flank from a potential challenge by progressive Democrats.

"Clean Virginia is putting its bet on Spanberger and that is a huge advantage," said Olusoji Akomolafe, chairman of the Political Science Department at Norfolk State University. "Clean Virginia has really become a player in Virginia politics."

Stoney acknowledged that "she certainly had a fundraising advantage," but he said neither that nor Spanberger's endorsements caused him to drop out of the race.

Norfolk State's Akomolafe said Spanberger's background as a former CIA officer and U.S. Postal Service inspector helped, and so does the allure of potentially electing the first female governor in Virginia history. Either Spanberger or Earle-Sears would achieve that distinction.

As voters, "we like history making," Akomolafe said.

Spanberger also offers Democrats a proven capacity to win tough contests. A resident of western Henrico, she won two tight elections in a district that was rooted in the Richmond suburbs but extended far into the Republican-dominated countryside. After the Virginia Supreme Court approved a redistricting map in late 2021 that moved the district to Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg area, Spanberger won again, defeating Yesli Vega, a candidate with strong support from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, by 4.6 percentage points.

The victories gave Spanberger high name recognition in two of Virginia's biggest media markets and a national profile that Republicans have tried to tarnish without success.

"She fits the moment perfectly," Sabato said, noting that Democrats cannot afford to repeat 2021, when Youngkin upset McAuliffe and punctured the notion that Virginia was reliably Democratic.

Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Public Policy and Government at George Mason University, said Stoney "saw the reality of what campaigning against Spanberger was looking like."

He added: "I believe he understood that much of the base of the party was lining up behind Spanberger. Everything seemed to be breaking her way."

Stoney was counting on support from Black voters in the Richmond area, Hampton Roads and other parts of the state where he has been campaigning. After Spanberger secured the endorsements of Clean Virginia and former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, Stoney faced a likely one-on-one matchup with Spanberger without an additional candidate entering from the left.

In Stoney's two election victories as mayor, he won the minimum six districts required under the city charter, but never reached 40% of the vote in crowded fields.

"He has some support in Richmond, but as mayor he never really needed a majority to win," said Alex Keena, associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University. "You can't even say he had a mandate."

With Stoney's withdrawal, Democrats avoided a potentially ugly and costly primary battle in the governor's race, which is why he said he did it, along with growing family priorities - his wife, Brandy, and their daughter, Sunday, who was born last month.

This year's contests come first

Susan Swecker, chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said she wants the Democrats' 2025 hopefuls to campaign this year for Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. and President Joe Biden.

Democrats have at least four candidates for lieutenant governor: Stoney, Rouse, Babur and, potentially, Hashmi.

"Six months ago, I was worried about not having a strong lieutenant governor nominee," state Democratic Party Chair Susan Swecker said. "I'm so happy to have people of substance. Any one of them can do the job and do it well."

At the same time, like her Republican counterpart, Anderson, Swecker wants to keep Democrats focused on this year, with Trump likely to make a much bigger play in Virginia than he did four years ago.

"I expect all of these candidates for office in 2025 to be stumping on the trail for Tim Kaine and Joe Biden," she said.

Rozell, at George Mason, said that whatever happens next year, Stoney, at age 42, has plenty of time for a future in Virginia politics.

"There's no need to be a young man in a hurry right now," he said.

Top 5 weekend events: Herbs Galore, Shakespeare's Birthday, Ashland Train Day

Herbs Galore

Shop from more than 90 plant vendors selling herbs, annuals, perennials, trees, vegetables and garden goods. There also will be live music and local food vendors and activities for all ages. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on the Carriage House Lawn, 1700 Hampton St. $10 per person; free for members and children ages 12 and younger. maymont.org or (804) 358-7166.

Shakespeare’s Birthday

Ashland Train Day

Richmond Restaurant Week

Eat local and raise money for Feed More with Richmond Restaurant Week. Dine at favorites like Bar Solita, 21 Spoons, And Dim Sum and more. For $35.24, you get a three-course meal with $5.24 from each meal donated directly to Feed More. Find participating restaurants at RRWeek.com .

Swine & Brine

Prepare to pig out at the return of Swine & Brine at Ardent Craft Ales. This annual event celebrates pork, seafood and brews with a variety of local restaurants serving up a food feast plus a full lineup of Ardent beers, local ciders and sparkling wine. Noon-8 p.m. 3200 W. Leigh St. Free to attend; pay as you go. (804) 359-1605 or www.ardentcraftales.com .

Richmond Animation Festival

The Richmond Animation Festival is headed to the Byrd Theatre. See an animated shorts program at 5 p.m. with an introduction by the curators. Followed by adult animated feature “Cryptozoo” at 7 p.m. including a Q&A with the filmmakers. 2908 W. Cary St. $10. (804) 353-9911 or https://byrdtheatre.org/ .

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney declared Dec. 4 that he was running for governor. On April 23 he announced he was dropping out to run for lieutenant governor.

Andrew Cain contributed to this report.

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