How does government work in Virginia?

What may surprise you here

• The General Assembly, not voters or the governor alone, chooses state judges. source
• A Virginia governor cannot be elected to the term immediately after the one just served. source

Legislature

Name

General Assembly source

Senate: seats

40 source

Senate: term in years

4 source

House of Delegates: seats

100 source

House of Delegates: term in years

2 source

Structure set by: Constitution of Virginia, Article IV, sections 1 to 3.

Governor and statewide offices

Term in years

4 source

Term limit

Ineligible for the term next succeeding the one for which elected (no immediate second term) source

Next regular election

2029 source

Lieutenant governor

separate election source

Attorney general

elected source

Attorney general’s term in years

4 source

Secretary of state

appointed by governor source

Courts

Highest court

Supreme Court of Virginia source

Intermediate appeals court

Court of Appeals of Virginia source

Main trial court

Circuit courts source

How high-court judges reach the bench

legislative election source

Local government

Called

county source

How many

95 source

Cities and towns

The Census Bureau counted 228 municipal governments in Virginia in 2022, and the constitution says the governing body of each county, city, or town is elected by the qualified voters. source

Schools

The Census Bureau counted only 1 independent school district government in Virginia in 2022, so most school divisions are run as part of county or city governments. source

Elections

Chief election official

Commissioner of Elections (heads the Department of Elections) source

Who runs elections locally

A three-member electoral board in each county and city, which appoints the general registrar source

Primary type

open source

Regular governor elections fall in

odd source

Citizen initiatives

no source

Who holds these offices

As of November 5, 2026. Terms of the current Congress run to January 3, 2027. Winners of the November 3, 2026 elections are not shown until results are certified and they take office.

Governor: Abigail Spanberger DDemocratic, in office since January 17, 2026. source

Who has held each Senate seat since 2001

Each band is one person in the seat. The line marks November 2026; anything to its right is the rest of a current term. Dates through 2026 come from the congress-legislators public dataset, whose current members are matched against the Senate’s own roster on every build.

Sources