Could Virginia have a split ticket in 2025? Political science expert explains how
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - With early voting in full swing across the commonwealth, Virginia voters will have several names from both sides of the aisle to choose from.
Virginia and New Jersey are the only two states in the country that have state elections in “off-years,” which David Jones, a political science professor at James Madison University, said is any election that isn’t a midterm election or presidential election.
Jones said the Virginia and New Jersey elections have historically been markers for voters’ opinions of the president, as Virginia’s major elections for the state heads of office come 10 months after the president is inaugurated. Jones said Virginia politics are like a pendulum, typically swinging the opposite party of the president. Here’s what the last elections have looked like in Virginia:
- 2021: Joe Biden (D) was President, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) was elected
- 2017: Donald Trump (R) was President, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was elected
- 2013: Barack Obama (D) was President, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) was elected
- 2009: Baraco Obama (D) was President, Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) was elected
- 2005: George W. Bush (R) was president, Gov. Tim Kaine (D) was elected
- 2001: George W. Bush (R) was President, Gov. Mark Warner (D) was elected
- 1997: Bill Clinton (D) was President, Gov. James Gilmore (R) was elected
Excluding the 2013 election, the pendulum trend has remained true in Virginia politics. However, Jones attributed a lot of this change to failed promises.
“What you normally see in midterm years and the odd-year elections, the president’s supporters are disappointed by all of the things the president hasn’t done,” Jones said.
In Virginia, voters are not required to file their party status and they’re not required to pick all candidates from the same party. This “split ticket” means that, for example, a Virginia voter could vote for Winsome Earle-Sears (R) for governor, John Reid (R) for lieutenant governor and Jay Jones (D) for attorney general if they wanted. Essentially, voters will select every candidate individually, instead of running together like the president and vice president would.
The last time Virginia voted in a split ticket was in 2005 when Tim Kaine’s lieutenant governor, Bill Bolling (R), was elected alongside Kaine. Bolling is also the only lieutenant governor to hold the position for two terms in recent history.
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