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Virginia's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 16 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
Virginia's 5th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: (date not yet available)
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 Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Virginia's 5th Congressional District
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's 5th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
(date not yet available)
August 4, 2026
November 3, 2026



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.

This page focuses on Virginia's 5th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list of candidates is unofficial. The filing deadline for this election has passed, and Ballotpedia is working to update this page with the official candidate list. This note will be removed once the official candidate list has been added.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 5

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 5 on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
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Suzanne Krzyzanowski
Image of Tom Perriello
Tom Perriello
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Submit photo
Mike Pruitt
Image of Paul Riley
Paul Riley  Candidate Connection
Image of Robert Tracinski
Robert Tracinski
Image of Kate Zabriskie
Kate Zabriskie

There are no incumbents in this race.

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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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.

Paul Riley

Image of Paul Riley

WebsiteFacebookX

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I am a retired U.S. Army veteran with over 20 years of service as a military intelligence officer, including a combat tour in Iraq. After serving at duty stations around the world, my wife Jani and our family settled in Crozet in 2010, where we raised our three children: McKenna, Nathaniel, and Keegan. From 2010 to 2023, I worked at the National Ground Intelligence Center. Today, i continue my national service as a defense contractor and intelligence professional, advising on critical security issues facing the United States. Born in Norwich, New York, i graduated from Florida State University in 1989. My wife and I have been married for over 34 years. I enjoy the outdoors—hiking, fishing, hunting, and traveling—and remains deeply committed to my family and community."

Key Messages

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

Families across our district are being hit from every direction—grocery bills, gas, utilities, housing, and healthcare costs keep climbing while paychecks fall behind. A big part of the problem is Washington’s short-sighted trade policies. Tariffs meant to look tough are actually hidden taxes that raise prices on everything from food and clothing to the tools our small businesses rely on. When you add tariffs on top of already rising costs, it’s families, not politicians, who pay the price. I believe we need a smarter approach: reduce tariffs that punish consumers, cut wasteful government spending, and focus on policies that bring supply chains closer to home and create good-paying jobs right here. Affordability should be the foundation of

Our tax system should be simple, fair, and work for working families—not just the well-connected. Too many middle-class families and small businesses are carrying the load while large corporations and special interests find loopholes to avoid paying their share. Here in our district, that means family farms, small manufacturers, and local shops are stretched thin while the biggest corporations exploit tax breaks and send profits overseas. I believe we need a tax system that rewards hard work, not wealth hoarding. That means lowering the burden on working families, protecting retirement savings, and ensuring big corporations and the ultra-wealthy play by the same rules as everyone else. Fair and equitable taxes aren’t about taking more—it’s

In Virginia’s 5th District, over 48,000 veterans call this community home. They deserve more than empty promises—they deserve action. Yet, Washington continues to push cuts to the very services our veterans rely on, from healthcare to mental health support to timely claims processing. That is unacceptable. As your representative, I will fight to strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs, not weaken it. That means fully funding local VA clinics, expanding access to care, and cutting through the red tape that keeps veterans from receiving the benefits they’ve earned. It also means protecting the hard-earned rights of our servicemembers and ensuring they have opportunities for good jobs, housing, and education when they return home.

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
Suzanne Krzyzanowski Democratic Party $5,100 $638 $4,462 As of December 31, 2025
Tom Perriello Democratic Party $712,825 $36,209 $676,616 As of December 31, 2025
Mike Pruitt Democratic Party $372,068 $217,544 $154,524 As of December 31, 2025
Paul Riley Democratic Party $3,210 $11,841 $13,104 As of December 31, 2025
Robert Tracinski Democratic Party $17,186 $675 $32,167 As of December 31, 2025
Kate Zabriskie Democratic Party $47,156 $47,156 $0 As of December 31, 2025

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.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_va_congressional_district_05.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+6. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 6 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Virginia's 5th the 179th most Republican district nationally.[2]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Virginia's 5th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
43.0%56.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Virginia, 2024

Virginia presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 18 Democratic wins
  • 14 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party D D D D D D D R D D D D D R R R D R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D
See also: Party control of Virginia state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Virginia's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Virginia
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 6 8
Republican 0 5 5
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 11 13

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Virginia's top four state executive offices as of February 2026.

State executive officials in Virginia, February 2026
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorDemocratic Party Abigail Spanberger
Lieutenant GovernorDemocratic Party Ghazala Hashmi
Secretary of StateDemocratic Party Candi King
Attorney GeneralDemocratic Party Jay Jones

State legislature

Virginia State Senate

Party As of February 2026
     Democratic Party 21
     Republican Party 19
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 40

Virginia House of Delegates

Party As of February 2026
     Democratic Party 64
     Republican Party 36
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 100

Trifecta control

Virginia Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R
Senate D D D D S S R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R D R R R R R D D D D D D
House D D D D D D S S R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R D D

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House 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. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Virginia U.S. House Ballot-qualified party 1,000 $3,480 5/26/2026 Source
Virginia U.S. House Unaffiliated 1,000 N/A 8/4/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Virginia Legislative Information System, "Va. Code § 24.2–530," accessed December 23, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 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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