By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Virginia House Speaker Don Scott has set a Jan. 6 special election in House District 77 after Del. Mike Jones stepped down to run for the state Senate.
Jones won Sunday’s Democratic firehouse primary for Senate District 15, the seat that Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi will leave when she’s sworn in as lieutenant governor next month. His resignation now opens a seat in District 77, a reliably Democratic seat that covers parts of Richmond and Chesterfield.
Scott picked the Jan. 6 date in a notice sent out Dec. 8, telling Richmond and Chesterfield to get the special election on the books. Candidates have until Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. to file their paperwork.
Two Democrats have already announced campaigns. Former Richmond City Council member Michelle Mosby, who recently ran for mayor of Richmond, and attorney Charlie Schmidt both entered the race this week.
The Democratic Party of Virginia says it plans to hold an unassembled caucus on Sunday to choose its nominee. As of Wednesday afternoon, no Republican candidate had filed to fill the seat.
Mosby announced her run, saying she has spent more than two decades working in Richmond and the Southside as a public servant, small-business owner, nonprofit leader and former president of Richmond City Council.
Schmidt, a progressive Democrat and attorney, said he hopes to bring his experience to the General Assembly.
District 77 has remained safely Democratic under the 2021 redistricting map. VPAP results show Jones winning reelection last month with about 78% of the vote over Republican Richard Stonage.
Jones now shifts his attention to the Jan. 6 Senate special election, which will be held the same day as the House District 77 special election.