Election Guide 2025: Spotsylvania County

Jan 02, 2025

By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Updated June 22, 2025

In the event of errors or omissions, please send a note to the editor.

Key Dates

Election Day

November 4, 2025

For more detailed information

Virginia Department of Elections Publication How to Run for a Local Office

Voter Information

The go-to guide for any questions related to elections and voting in Spotsylvania County is the Spotsylvania Office of Elections.

To register to vote, update your current Virginia voter registration, apply to vote absentee by mail, or view your polling place, election district, absentee ballot status, and voting history, visit the Virginia Department of Elections.

Office of Elections

As of June 17, 2025, the following candidates have been certified for the November election.

Board of Supervisors Race

The following seats are not up for election this cycle:

Chancellor - Gerald Childress (R)
Courtland - Andrew Jackson Mullins (R)
Livingston - Jake Lane (R)
Salem - Deborah Hamilton Frazier (I)

The upcoming races in Battlefield, Berkeley, and Lee Hill feature prior elected officials, incumbents, and a number of political novices.

Battlefield features a matchup of the 2021 race between longtime supervisor, and current Board Chair, Chris Yakabouski former School Board member Baron Braswell. Braswell lost his 2021 race to Yakabouski by less than 500 votes.

In the Berkeley District, political novices Nilofer Garza and David Goosman will try to unseat Kevin Marshall, who was influential in bringing Kalahari to Spotsylvania during his term.

Finally, the Lee Hill race will feature political novice Marcus Garcia against incumbent Lori Hayes.

School Board Race

The following seats are not up for election this cycle — all School Board members run as independents:

Chancellor - Belen Rodas
Courtland - Carol Medawar
Livingston - Megan Jackson
Salem - Lorita Daniels

Because the four seats not up for election are held by pro-public-school candidates, the balance of power is unlikely to shift in this election. The three seats up this November, however, include no incumbents. Nicole Cole is running for state house, while Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie, known as much for their sometimes raucous actions during school board meetings as for their policy accomplishments, decided against seeking re-election.

In Battlefield, James King is a pastor of the Land of Promise Church and a political novice. His opponents include Nick Ignacio, who has run for multiple offices without success, most recently Clerk of Court, and Jennifer Craig-Ford, a political novice and local business owner.

Lawrence DiBella III and Amanda Monroe are both political novices and will square off in the Berkeley District, while Lee Hill has three candidates. Richard Lieberman is a political novice who has built a following on Facebook. Gabrielle Pickover is also a political novice. Todd Rump has previously run for office in Spotsylvania, twice losing races for the Board of Supervisors in 2017 and 2021.

House of Delegates Races

HD 63

Two years ago, Phillip Scott (R) won his seat in the House running unopposed. This year, he will have a Democratic opponent, Forrest Miller. Miller is a political novice, but has managed to raise more than $25,000 to this point for his race. Scott holds the fundraising edge, however, with more than $47,000 raised. Watch for the Advance’s interviews with both candidates, coming this week.

HD 65

In what is shaping up to be an expensive run to defend his seat, Democrat Joshua Cole will face off against Republican Sean Steinway. Cole has raised over $284,000 for his run. Steinway is well off that pace, having raised just over $119,000.

HD 66

Two well-known political faces will square off for HD 66. Republican Bobby Orrock is currently the longest serving member of the House. He will be face-off against current Spotsylvania County School Board member Nicole Cole. Cole currently holds a fundraising advantage over Orrock of some $149,000 to some $102,000. Orrock is a formidable fundraiser, however, so the next filing will be closely watched. Expect this to be an expensive, and hotly contested, race.

Demographics

Spotsylvania’s demographics continue to change rapidly. The Cooper Weldon Center for Public Service rates the county the 10th fastest growing in Virginia since 2020.

Though still a predominantly white county, Spotsylvania’s growth is being driven by its minority groups. From 2010-2022, the Black population has grown 23%, while the Hispanic population has grown 97%.

With this change in population has also come a rise in income inequality. As recorded by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, this inequality surged between 2020 and 2022. Though it has eased some, the 2023 inequality ratio still sits at a level that rates second highest since 2010.

The impact of these shifts is felt particularly in the public school system, where English Learners and a growing number of special education students are straining the system.

It’s also felt in households, where according to United for Alice, the percentage of households living in poverty in Spotsylvania County was 43% in 2022, the last year for which data is available. Before then, the number had been consistently in the mid- to upper-30s.

Local Obituaries

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