John Reid (Virginia)
John Reid (Republican Party) is running for election for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025. The Republican primary for this office on June 17, 2025, was canceled.
Biography
John Reid earned a bachelor's degree from Baylor University. His career experience includes working as a radio host.[1]
Nov. 4 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election
Ballotpedia identified the Nov. 4 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election as a battleground election. For more on the election, click here.
Ghazala Hashmi (D) and John Reid (R) are running in the general election for lieutenant governor of Virginia on Nov. 4, 2025. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) is running for governor of Virginia instead of re-election.
WAMU's Margaret Barthel wrote, "Virginia's lieutenant governor has few official powers. The role presides over the state senate and can break a tie if the body is evenly split on a vote. The position also serves on a variety of state boards and commissions, and pays a salary of just over $36,000. But because Virginia governors can't serve consecutive terms, the lieutenant governor post is often seen as a political stepping stone to a future bid for governor."[2]
According to Randolph-Macon College's Rich Meagher, the tie-breaking vote is important in the chamber: "If you have a senator who feels uncomfortable about an issue, or have a controversial issue that you feel like it's gonna be really hard to get your entire majority to vote for, it's nice to have a little bit of an extra cushion."[3] As of Aug. 12, 2025, Democrats have a 21-19 majority in the Virginia Senate.
Hashmi represents District 15 in the state Senate. She was first elected to the chamber in 2019, when she defeated incumbent state Sen. Glen Sturtevant (R) 54% to 46%. Hashmi previously worked as a community college educator for 30 years.[4]
Hashmi said she is running because "Virginia needs an executive team, inclusive of a strong Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, that is not only ready to respond effectively to the Trump administration but also ready to chart the next four years of policy that will effectively cast Virginia as an exemplar for other states."[5] Hashmi's priorities includefunding public education and lowering the cost of post-secondary education, ensuring access to affordable health care, and improving housing affordability.[5]
Reid hosted the radio program, Richmond Morning News, from 2017 to 2025.[6] He previously worked as a television news anchor and investigative reporter in Richmond, Virginia, for 10 years.[7] Reid has also worked in communication roles for U.S. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).[7]
On the election, Reid said, "I left a successful job and career and a decent paycheck to pursue this job and this leadership opportunity. This is not about money or celebrity status or power or future politics for me, it's about leading away from zealotry and social justice warrior agendas and making reasonable and responsible and fair decisions so that free citizens can manage their own lives as they see fit."[8] Reid's priorities include improving public safety, advocating for lower taxes and deregulation, and opposing any attempt to repeal the state's right-to-work law.[8][9]
As of Aug. 12, 2025, Virginia is one of 17 states where the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor. According to George Mason University's Mark Rozell, "With separate balloting, the potential exists for candidates from opposite political parties serving together in the state's two top offices."[10] From 1969 to 2021, Virginia voters elected candidates from opposite political parties to serve as lieutenant governor and governor five times.[10] The most recent instance was in 2005, when voters elected Tim Kaine (D) as governor and Bill Bolling (R) as lieutenant governor.[10]
Elections
2025
See also: Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2025
General election
General election for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
Ghazala Hashmi, John Reid, and Marlow Jones are running in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Ghazala Hashmi (D)  | |
 | John Reid (R) | |
 | Marlow Jones (Independent) (Write-in) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia on June 17, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ghazala Hashmi | 27.5 | 136,717 |
 | Levar Stoney | 26.5 | 131,765 | |
 | Aaron Rouse | 26.2 | 130,485 | |
 | Babur Lateef | 8.5 | 42,099 | |
 | Alex Bastani | 5.7 | 28,476 | |
 | Victor Salgado | 5.6 | 27,593 | |
| Total votes: 497,135 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. John Reid advanced from the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Curran (R)
- Pat Herrity (R)
Campaign finance
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
John Reid has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to John Reid asking him to fill out the survey. If you are John Reid, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 23,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
You can ask John Reid to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing contact@johnreidforvirginia.com.
Campaign website
Reid's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
First-Class Learning in Education, Not Leftist Indoctrination John Reid believes we should prioritize first-class learning in education, free from leftist indoctrination. His focus is on ensuring that our educational system imparts knowledge and critical thinking skills, not political bias, preparing students for success in a diverse world instead of creating radical activists. Protecting and Learning from Our Heritage, Not Erasing It John Reid is dedicated to safeguarding and gaining knowledge from our heritage, rather than obliterating it. He appreciates the significance of our history and will always advocate for conserving our cultural landmarks and enlightening future generations about the foundation of our nation. We can learn from both the positive and negative aspects of our past, but unless we examine where we have come from, we will never be able to see where we need to go with the clarity we should have. Enforcing Immigration Laws, Not Allowing Localities to Ignore Them John Reid is dedicated to enforcing immigration laws, not allowing localities to ignore them. He has a proven track record of advocating for the rule of law, ensuring that our immigration policies are respected and uniformly applied across all communities. Bringing Virginians Together, Not Dividing Them with Identity Politics The left loves identity politics because it divides people on fear when they can’t unite voters on policies. John Reid is focused on stopping the divisive wokeness and bringing Virginians together on common values for a stronger future. John is uniquely positioned to take the fight to the radical progressives head-on as he continues his fight against boys in girls sports and the extreme trans-agenda being forced upon our children. It’s time to unite around common sense values instead of dividing over wokeness. Unleashing a Business-Friendly Future, Not Throttling It With Taxes and Over-Regulation John Reid is committed to unleashing a business-friendly future that ceases to throttle it with taxes and over-regulation. By advocating for lower taxes and de-regulation, John’s policies will focus on creating a thriving economic environment that encourages investment, innovation, and job creation. Standing Up for Our Law Enforcement Officers In 2020 when others got scared and went quiet, John Reid loudly defended our police officers and denounced the Democrat leaders who allowed them to be demonized and physically abused. John knows that a stable and safe community is dependent on strong and fair individuals who deal with good citizens in their worst moments and deal with violent and deviant criminals every day. John stands with law enforcement. Growing the Republican Party Through good times and bad, wins and losses, John has been loyal to the Republican Party and her candidates. He was taught to be loyal or to leave and he has always stayed even when he has disagreed with controversial policy decisions and candidates. John’s unique story as a solid Reagan conservative and a gay man of faith coupled with his bold vision for a dynamic modern economy and free society that works for everyone will grow the Virginia GOP and increase its vote tally. Advocating for Personal Freedom John Reid believes YOU know best how to live your life and will fight to allow adults to make their own decisions without government intervention. He also believes we all must pay our own bills and personally own and be responsible for the consequences- good and bad- of our decisions. Protecting Parental Rights Your children are yours. They do not belong to the government and are not the responsibility of the state. John Reid wants the government to provide opportunities for your kids but not mandates and indoctrination. Parents must- in almost all cases- be the final decision makers in their children’s upbringing. Bringing Business and Jobs to Virginia John Reid has spent years as a businessman and partner at one of Washington’s leading international PR firms. He routinely met with global leaders and business executives identifying ways to grow accounts, solve problems, and expand opportunities. He’s consulted with some of America’s top companies and will help keep Virginia viable for expansion and growth in a hyper competitive market. Virginians want job opportunities and John will build on the work of Governor Youngkin to bring business to the Commonwealth. Lower Taxes and Government Discipline John Reid is always advocating for tax breaks and tax elimination for working Virginians and for businesses. He has consistently and boldly called out Democrats who refused even during the Covid collapse to suspend the most basic gas tax to help those who were losing income and still had to work. Taxes kill businesses and entrepreneurship and they burden families. John will fight to finally eliminate the hated car tax and to lower real estate taxes and burdensome business taxes. Government must do less with less. Defending the Second Amendment John Reid is a gun owner and has his concealed carry permit. After 20 years as a target on television and radio media sadly John knows the need for personal protection against hostile people who threaten harm. Guns are not the problem in modern American society! Allowing lawless and violent people to continually reoffend against the innocent is the leftist mistake that has turned our cities into dangerous killing fields and is rapidly ruining our suburbs too. John Reid will loudly fight against any efforts to disarm or burden law abiding citizens. The Right to Life John Reid is pro life and has boldly spoken out on TV, radio, and in his personal testimony against the Democrats new radical unlimited any time-any place, day of birth abortion proposals. He is also one of the leading voices against the growing human euthanasia movement. Protecting People and Institutions of Faith John Reid is a man of faith. He attended church schools and is thankful for the moral grounding his education gave him. Even in controversial and very personal debates over gay rights John has always defended the rights of churches and private individuals to follow their own consciences. Good and moral people may disagree and in a free society we must defend the right of the individual and the religious institution to follow their own beliefs. Stopping Radical Social Agendas From DEI to CRT to the radical trans movement, Democrats know no boundaries with their leftist social agendas. Thirty years ago when John Reid spoke out for gay service in the military and civil unions it was precisely to advocate for normalcy, public decorum, and honesty in society. His goal was to add normal hard working patriotic Americans to the fundamental building blocks of a stable society. Indeed Americans largely embraced those changes. But today radical leftists have hijacked the movement and are not asking for acceptance but instead are demanding submission. John is clear- It’s completely unacceptable for men to participate in women’s sports. Women and men deserve private separate spaces as free as possible from any obvious physical or sexual threat. And we must be blatant in saying that it is factually impossible for biological men or women to personally decide to change their gender. John believes in the right for grown adults to live their lives as they see fit but not if they impose restrictions and obligations on others and not if any of their behavior sexualizes or grooms children. Who better to make our conservative moral case than a man like John Reid? [11] |
” |
| —John Reid's campaign website (2025)[12] | ||
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
|
Candidate Lieutenant Governor of Virginia |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ John Reid for Lieutenant Governor, "Meet John," accessed May 7, 2025
- ↑ WAMU, "What the six Democratic candidates for Virginia lieutenant governor say on the issues," May 13, 2025
- ↑ 8News, "What does Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor actually do?" May 27, 2025
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "2025 Candidate Connection Survey," accessed August 12, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Virginia Mercury, "Virginia lieutenant governor race questionnaire: Ghazala Hashmi," June 16, 2025
- ↑ The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Richmond radio host John Reid announces run for lieutenant governor," January 27, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 John Reid Campaign Website, "Meet John," accessed August 12, 2025
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Virginia Mercury, "Virginia lieutenant governor race questionnaire: John Reid," June 16, 2025
- ↑ John Reid Campaign Website, "Workforce Freedom Agenda," accessed August 12, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 The Washington Post, "Opinion: Virginia’s governor and lieutenant governor should run as a team," March 21, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ John Reid's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed May 7, 2025
