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United States Senate election in Virginia, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)

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U.S. Senate, Virginia
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 2, 2026
Primary: August 4, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Virginia

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
U.S. Senate, Virginia
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th
Virginia elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Democratic Party primary takes place on August 4, 2026, in Virginia to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
April 2, 2026
August 4, 2026
November 3, 2026


Heading into the election, the incumbent is Mark Warner (Democrat), who was first elected in 2008.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Virginia utilizes an open primary process in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Thirty-three of the 100 U.S. Senate seats are up for election, and another two seats are up for special election. Democrats hold 13 of the seats up for election, and Republicans hold 22. As of January 2026, nine members of the U.S. Senate announced they are not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. Senate elections taking place this year, click here.

This page focuses on Virginia's United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Virginia

Incumbent Mark Warner (D), Lorita Daniels (D), Gregory Eichelberger (D), Mark Moran (D), and Jason Reynolds (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Virginia on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Image of Lorita Daniels
Lorita Daniels
Image of Gregory Eichelberger
Gregory Eichelberger
Image of Mark Moran
Mark Moran  Candidate Connection
Image of Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds  Candidate Connection

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = 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.

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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Mark Moran

Image of Mark Moran

Website

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "My name is Mark Moran, and I’m running for the US Senate because America is broken and our politicians are too compromised to fix it. I grew up in a middle class household. My father recently retired after decades with the federal government, and my mother worked as an editor for a nonprofit. I wasn't able to go to the college I wanted to because I didn't get enough financial aid. I realized then that doing everything right doesn’t always mean you get a fair shot. I went to William & Mary on a track scholarship, served as team captain (a team I’d later save from being cut), and later graduated from UVA with a law degree and MBA. I took out over $300k of student loans, which forced me to divert from my dream of being a civil rights lawyer. I spent some time in Investment Banking, eventually advising on over $75 billion in healthcare transactions. I hated every minute of it. I saw first hand how corporations control our elected officials. In December 2020, I was cast through Hinge for a “untitled dating show” on HBO Max, saw my opportunity to leave and took it. Going on reality TV showed me the power of attention and narrative. After the reality show, I started an investor relations company and did the first ever twitter spaces for a publicly traded company, an idea now replicated by everyone from Robinhood to Tesla. I believe that we are in a unique moment where the timing is right to break the system. I’m now running to break it. I hope you’ll join me."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I want free education in America, paid for by taxing data centers. By designating data centers as critical infrastructure, setting up a national framework to regulate them, and taxing their electricity use and revenue, we can pay for: Free community college for every American, for life, so anyone can walk into a community college and enroll without tuition. A debt-free path to a degree, through two years at community college and two years at any public university- tuition fully guaranteed. Free tuition at public HBCUs, allowing the institutions carrying Black excellence for generations to be fully funded. The founding of a new, tuition free public university, Cesar Chavez University, to be the first truly Hispanic serving institution.

I want to make it easier for you to own a home, by using the tax code to take back power from corporations. We will ban corporate and institutional ownership of single-family homes. Corporations have bought out entire blocks, raising house prices and sucking the life out of communities. That’s no more. We will make rent payments fully tax deductible, the same way mortgage interest is, leveling the playing field between renters and homeowners. I’ll also push for a tax credit for young homebuyers. When a senior on social security sells their primary residence to a first-time home buyer, they will receive a refundable federal tax credit up to $250,000, allowing the first-time homebuyer to pay less while beating out Wall Street.

I will fight to abolish ICE and push back against the surveillance state. ICE is using technology from Palantir that collects information on everything you do, which is then sent to government agencies with no accountability as to how they handle the data. We will abolish ICE completely, ban Palantir contracts with federal immigration and law enforcement agencies, and require warrants for all biometric data collection and use. We will also prohibit warrantless surveillance and end mass raids and terror-style operations from law enforcement. We must instead transfer immigration enforcement to civil, non-militarized agencies under DHS (the way it used to be) with strict oversight and prosecution for any agent who uses unlawful force.

Jason Reynolds

Image of Jason Reynolds

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I've lived in Virginia since 2001, currently in Fredericksburg. I've been married for 31 years and have two wonderful children. I had a brief stint in the Army as a SIGINT analyst (honorably discharged). I was a stay-at-home dad for 9 years and then went back to work once both kids were in school. I'm currently a contractor working in IT. I'm not a politician. I'm a regular person running to represent regular Virginians. My goal is to take our party, and our country, back from the political and economic elites and return them to the people. I believe in fighting for common sense progressive policies including preserving our democracy; protecting marginalized communities; safeguarding Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; ensuring everyone has access to affordable healthcare; enshrining a woman's right to make their own reproductive healthcare choices; respecting our international allies; and reforming our tax code to ensure millionaires, billionaires, and corporations pay a fair share."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

America has ignored its workers for too long. We need to enact a set of progressive policies that ensure working Americans are not left behind again. The minimum wage needs to be raised to $20 per hour. Credit card and student loan interest rates should be capped at no more than 10%. States must be incentivized to construct more affordable housing. And corporations need to be held responsible for price gouging and excessive rent increases.

Healthcare costs are out of control and our profit-first system benefits nobody except the corporations and their shareholders. We need to adopt a system where unexpected illnesses don't lead to bankruptcy or force people to skip necessary medical care because of the cost. When I am elected, I will work with my fellow progressives to reform our healthcare system to lower costs. In addition to reducing costs, we also need to expand access to primary care in rural areas and after hours care in all areas. We need to incentivize medical professionals to serve where the need is the greatest. I believe we can do this by first committing to build hospitals, clinics, and urgent care facilities where we currently have none.

I am horrified at the current administration's treatment of minorities, marginalized communities, and non-Christians. Diversity has always made our nation stronger and should be encouraged. We must stop punishing people for who they love, how they look, what they believe, or how they feel. We must work to enshrine the rights of all ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities to freely live their lives to the fullest.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Virginia

Election information in Virginia: Aug. 4, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 4, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by July 24, 2026
  • Online: July 24, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: July 24, 2026
  • By mail: Received by July 24, 2026
  • Online: July 24, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 4, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Aug. 4, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

June 18, 2026 to Aug. 1, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (ET)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Mark Warner Democratic Party $19,412,859 $6,435,682 $13,365,586 As of December 31, 2025
Lorita Daniels Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Gregory Eichelberger Democratic Party $5,698 $5,698 $0 As of January 15, 2026
Mark Moran Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jason Reynolds Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Virginia in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Virginia, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Virginia U.S. Senate Ballot-qualified party 10,000 2% of annual salary 4/2/2026 Source
Virginia U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 10,000 N/A 6/16/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Virginia Legislative Information System, "Va. Code § 24.2–530," accessed December 23, 2025


Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Tim Kaine (D)
Mark Warner (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
Democratic Party (8)
Republican Party (5)


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