With just hours to go before Virginia’s statewide primary, Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general have been saturating the airwaves with aggressive ads targeting President Donald Trump.
The crowded Democratic primary for lieutenant governor features six candidates, while two are vying for the party’s nomination for attorney general. The tone of the final stretch has been unmistakably focused on Trump.
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“To protect our families, their lawlessness has to be stopped. I’m Shannon Taylor. I’m running for attorney general to beat back [Elon] Musk and Trump,” the Henrico County Commonwealth’s attorney said in her latest campaign ad.
“I’m the only Democrat to have prosecuted a criminal case and win a Republican seat,” she added. “Now, I’m coming for Trump.”
Taylor touts her experience prosecuting neo-Nazis, scammers, and defending reproductive rights, positioning herself as a front-line defender against extremism.
In a parallel ad, fellow attorney general contender Jay Jones appears alongside former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who endorses him as the candidate best equipped to challenge Trump and Elon Musk.
“There’s no one I trust more to stand up to Trump and Musk than you, Jay,” Northam says to Jones in the ad.
“You even sued Glenn Youngkin when he attacked voting rights,” he tells Jones, who responds, “I’ll never stop fighting for Virginia families to protect our rights and our workers from Trump’s agenda.”
“You’ve got my vote,” Northam said to Jones as the ad ends.
In the lieutenant governor race, the anti-Trump rhetoric is just as pointed.
State Sen. Aaron Rouse, a former NFL player, casts himself as a fighter in his latest commercial.
“I’m Sen. Aaron Rouse, and I’m not afraid of a fight,” he said in the ad full of football imagery. “After Roe, I became the deciding vote to defend abortion rights in Virginia and cut taxes for seniors. Now, I’m taking on Trump and Musk, passing a new law to protect federal workers.”
“So, President Trump, when you come for Virginia, you’ve got to go through me,” he declared in the ad.
Ghazala Hashmi, also a state senator, draws a personal line from Trump’s presidency to her political awakening.
“Trump’s hate pushed me to run,” she says in her ad, highlighting her work on Medicaid protections, contraception access, and education.
Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, known for removing Confederate monuments during his tenure, does not mince words in his ad either: “Donald Trump didn’t like it, but so what? We did what was right.”
Victor Salgado, a former Justice Department prosecutor, shared a clip on Instagram reflecting on his decision to leave the DOJ following Trump’s 2024 election.
“When Donald Trump was reelected last November, I knew I couldn’t stay,” Salgado says. “The question became: Do I go to a law firm, a company, make money? That would’ve meant staying out of the fight.”
The field also includes Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef and retired labor attorney Alexander Bastani, who have focused more on education, healthcare, and economic equity in their platforms.
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Trump’s recent return to the White House, following his 2024 victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, has reignited Democratic urgency in the state.
Republicans, meanwhile, are united behind Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) in her bid for governor and incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares. Former conservative talk radio host John Reid is running unopposed in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor. Earle-Sears will face Democrat Abigail Spanberger in the November general election.