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Donna Charles
Donna Charles (independent) ran for election for Governor of Virginia. She will not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 4, 2025.
Charles completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Donna Charles was born in Elmhurst in Queens, New York. She served in the U.S. Air Force. She graduated from the St. Francis Preparatory. She earned a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University and a graduate degree from Tufts University.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 2025
General election
General election for Governor of Virginia
Abigail Spanberger and Winsome Earle-Sears are running in the general election for Governor of Virginia on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Abigail Spanberger (D) | |
 | Winsome Earle-Sears (R) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Donna Charles (Independent)
- Levar Stoney (D)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Abigail Spanberger advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Virginia.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Winsome Earle-Sears advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Virginia.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Merle Rutledge (R)
- Dave LaRock (R)
- Amanda Chase (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Donna Charles completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Charles' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Donna Charles understands that without public safety, communities fall victim to flight and blight. Law, order, and public safety underpin all thriving and productive communities. Donna will work with both sides of the aisle and law enforcement professionals from across the Commonwealth to address Virginians' growing concerns about public safety. Her unique and broad background in national security gives her a sharper perspective on how to responsibly and effectively employ emerging technologies that can help combat all forms of crime and threats to Virginia's critical infrastructure.
- Donna Charles is keenly sensitive to the pressure Virginians are feeling from economic and political uncertainty emanating from Washington. Donna will work tirelessly to prioritize raising the minimum wage, protect the Commonwealth's social safety net, and expanding access to healthcare, all critical for strengthening families and reduce pressure on valued working class.
- Donna Charles' approach to bipartisan governance is taking the "both and" approach. That means working to protect our public schools while ensuring parents can select schools for their children that best reflect their beliefs, values, and aspirations. As a first-generation American, Donna has benefited from parents who came to this country with little and sacrificed everything to send her to the best schools they could afford. She believes that no one should be deprived of the best education available, especially because of their zip code.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 25, 2025
