Democrats in Virginia have a candidate gap. And it didn't start in 2024.
In local races across the state — school boards, city councils, county seats — Republicans have been showing up consistently and Democrats haven't. Not because the races don't matter. Because the infrastructure to recruit and train candidates in those races didn't exist. The numbers make it impossible to ignore.
Virginia candidates fielded · 2023–2024
Republicans out-fielded Democrats by 243 candidates.
That's not a bad cycle. That's a systemic pattern - one party building everywhere while the other makes painful choices due to lack of investment.
That's not a candidate recruitment problem. That's a systemic crisis. And it's exactly what NDTC was built to solve.|
The work nobody sees — until it works.
NDTC has been in Virginia since 2017. Not just in presidential years. Not just in the races that make headlines. Year after year, building training infrastructure, recruiting first-time candidates, and investing in communities that national organizations and headlines routinely overlook.
Virginia Democrats trained by NDTC since 2019.
Candidates, campaign staff, local leaders, and volunteer activists — all equipped with the tools to show up, run smart, and win.
Candidates
First-time and returning candidates trained to run and winCampaign Staff
Operatives equipped to run effective modern campaignsLocal Leaders
Community leaders building Democratic infrastructureVolunteer/Activists
Organizers who power campaigns at every levelA decade of showing up.
The 2025 milestone didn't come from a single push. It came from eight years of consistent presence — in every kind of race, with every kind of partner, in every corner of Virginia.
Events
Partnered with the Rural Virginia Democratic Caucus
April 27–29•Charlottesville, VA Training
August 5•Partnered with the Democratic Party of Virginia
July 14•Partnered with WinVirginia, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and the Democracy Labs
March 8–10•Partnered with the Democratic Party of Virginia
April 6•Partnered with the Rural Virginia Democratic Caucus
May 4•NDTC & Emerge VA
February 13•New Leaders Council VA & NDTC: Digital Organizing
February 13•NDTC & VA Dem Party: Trust the Team: Workshop on Navigating Communication Challenges
September 22•NDTC & VA Dem Party: Effective Communication in Virtual Trainings
September 29•NDTC with Contest Every Race
January 5•NDTC at Virginia Young Democrats Convention
May 15•VA GOTV Series
August 14–16•NDTC with SwingLeft
August 19•What is a Democratic Precinct Chair?
January 17•Setting Up Your Local Democratic Party's Structure
January 19•What is a Democratic Precinct Chair?
January 24•National Fundraising Bootcamp
March 9•National Fundraising Bootcamp
March 22•Virginia 2025 Candidate Bootcamp
April 5•Build The Bench VA: So You Want to Run for Office in Virginia with NDTC
December 10•On Demand Courses
3,122 people who came to NDTC to better their communities — and proved that long-term thinking wins.|
What a decade of work looks like.
The 2025 results weren't luck and they weren't a surge. They were the return on ten years of investment — in people, in partnerships, and in the races nobody else would touch.
Of 100 House races with a Democratic candidate
First time in a century every Virginia district was contested.School board win rate
NDTC-trained candidates winning the races that shape communities.Years of consistent Virginia investment
Showing up every cycle — not just the ones that make headlines.
“Credit goes to our partners, especially NDTC, who show up year after year for our volunteers, staff, and candidates. This was a long-term team effort — we couldn't have accomplished 2025 without starting years ago.”
— Audra Grassia, Build the Bench VA
Who we work with in Virginia
The infrastructure delivered. The partnerships held. The bench was ready. This is what happens when you treat candidate development as a long-term investment instead of a short-term sprint.
2025 was a beginning.
One historic cycle doesn't close a decade-long gap. The infrastructure that made 2025 possible needs to keep growing — or the progress stalls.
Local Virginia seats on the ballot in 2026.
Each one is an opportunity. Each uncontested race is a community without a choice.
Turn your donations into wins.
444 seats on the ballot. Every one is a chance to build the bench; but only with the right investment.
Each icon is a seat. 444 local races on the Virginia ballot in 2026.
Virginia proved the model works. Now we keep building.
Year after year. Training after training. Candidate after candidate. If you want to be part of what makes the next historic result possible — as a donor, a partner, or a candidate — and not wait another 100 years, this is where it starts.
