State Sen. Adam Ebbin to resign, join Spanberger administration
Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and former Del. Mark Levine both announce bids for District seat within hours of Ebbin's announcement
State Sen. Adam Ebbin announced Wednesday on social media that he will resign from the Virginia Senate effective Feb. 18 to join Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s administration as a senior advisor at the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority.
Within hours, two Democrats announced they would seek the seat: Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and former Del. Mark Levine — setting up a rematch of their 2021 House of Delegates primary, which Bennett-Parker won.
Less than 30 minutes after Ebbin’s announcement, Bennett-Parker emailed supporters announcing her candidacy and touting endorsements from top Democratic leaders including Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, House Speaker Don Scott and House Majority Leader Charniele Herring.
Hours later, Levine announced his own bid, positioning himself as a fighter against the Trump administration and criticizing unnamed candidates who “go along to get along.”
“This is no time for complacency,” Levine wrote. “Virginia needs a Senator in a closely-divided 21-19 Senate who is unafraid to speak out on behalf of constituents and to defend them using every legal means possible.”
Shortly after Ebbin’s announcement, Alexandria City Councilman R. Kirk McPike said on social media that he is “strongly considering” running for Bennett-Parker’s House seat should she win the Senate race — a move that could trigger a cascade of three special elections in Alexandria.
Ebbin’s departure marks the end of a 22-year tenure in the General Assembly for the Alexandria Democrat, who made history as the first openly gay member elected to the Virginia legislature.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of the 39th District,” Ebbin said in a statement. He thanked constituents for their support during his two decades serving Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax County.
Ebbin said he would remain in the Senate through “crossover” — the Feb. 6 deadline when all active House bills move to the Senate and vice versa — to continue advancing progressive priorities before stepping down.
A 2021 rematch
Bennett-Parker and Levine last faced each other in the June 2021 Democratic primary for what was then the 45th House District, now the 5th after redistricting. Bennett-Parker, then Alexandria's vice mayor, defeated Levine 59% to 41% on the same day Levine lost the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor to Hala Ayala.
Levine represented the 45th District from 2016 to 2022. A Harvard graduate and Yale Law School alumnus, he previously served as chief legislative counsel to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. He was the third openly gay member elected to the Virginia General Assembly, after Ebbin and Del. Mark Sickles.
In his announcement, Levine touted his legislative record, saying he “introduced 47 bills in the final unlimited session, the second-most of any delegate, with more than half those bills passing into law.”
“I outworked everyone else in the General Assembly, often getting there as early as 6 am in the morning and working as late as 2 am at night,” he wrote.
Bennett-Parker, who represents the 5th House District, was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2021. She previously served as Alexandria’s vice mayor from 2019 to 2021.
A native Alexandrian born to two naval officers, Bennett-Parker is a Cornell University graduate who also holds a master’s degree in anthropology of food from the University of London, where she studied as a Fulbright fellow. She co-led Together We Bake, a nonprofit job training program for women, and founded Fruitcycle, a social enterprise combating food waste.
In her email to supporters, Bennett-Parker praised Ebbin’s service and framed her candidacy around defending Virginia from federal overreach.
“Our values, our neighbors, and our democracy are being attacked by the chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration,” Bennett-Parker wrote. “We need strong, steady leadership here in Virginia who will fight to safeguard our community and our values.”
In her two terms in the House, Bennett-Parker said she has passed 21 bills into law covering voting rights, disability rights, affordable housing, gun violence prevention and other issues. She serves on the House Finance, General Laws, and Counties, Cities and Towns committees and chairs the Virginia Railway Express Operations Board.
McPike eyes House seat
McPike, who endorsed Bennett-Parker’s Senate bid, said he would spend the coming days speaking with family, friends and supporters about a potential House campaign.
“I am proud of my work on City Council to address affordability, to fight climate change, and to support vulnerable members of our community, particularly those targeted by the Trump Administration,” McPike wrote. “I believe that I could do even more to stand up for our values in Richmond.”
McPike has a direct connection to Ebbin’s political career. He came to Alexandria in 2010 to run Ebbin’s campaign for the Virginia State Senate. First elected to City Council in 2021 and reelected in 2024, McPike serves as chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., and is the only openly gay member of Alexandria’s City Council.
Cascade of special elections possible
If Bennett-Parker wins the Senate seat, it would set off a cascade of elections for Alexandria voters.
Under Virginia law, members of the General Assembly cannot hold two elected positions and must resign their old seat to assume a new office. A Bennett-Parker victory would leave the 5th House District without representation temporarily and require another special election to fill her seat.
If McPike then wins the House seat, his departure from City Council would trigger yet another special election — the third in the chain.
Since the legislature would likely still be in session when Bennett-Parker would resign, the Speaker of the House of Delegates would issue the writ to call that election within 30 days of her resignation.
Such cascading vacancies are not unusual in Virginia politics. Between 2004 and 2024, there was an average of three special elections each year for General Assembly seats.
Four trips to the polls?
If all three special elections occur, Alexandria voters could head to the polls as many as four times in 2026 — or three times if the City Council vacancy is filled on the November ballot.
The first would be the special election for the 39th Senate District, likely in mid-March within 30 days of Ebbin’s Feb. 18 resignation. A special election for the 5th House District would likely follow in the spring if Bennett-Parker wins.
In November, Alexandria voters will return to the polls for the general election. The ballot will include U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, who is up for reelection, and U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th Congressional District. Voters will also decide on up to four proposed constitutional amendments that the General Assembly is expected to pass this session, including measures to protect reproductive freedom, affirm the right of two adults to marry, automatically restore voting rights for people who have completed felony sentences, and authorize the legislature to amend congressional maps under certain circumstances.
Cannabis expertise drives Ebbin appointment
Ebbin’s appointment positions him at the center of one of Spanberger’s top legislative goals. The governor-elect pledged on the campaign trail to sign legislation establishing a regulated retail cannabis system in Virginia, something her predecessor, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, had opposed.
Ebbin brings significant expertise to the role. He currently serves on the Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market and co-chairs a work group studying policy proposals for expedited sale of cannabis. In 2021, he passed legislation legalizing the simple possession of cannabis and was appointed chair of the General Assembly Cannabis Oversight Commission.
Special election timeline
Under Virginia law, Ebbin’s mid-session resignation will trigger a special election. Because the vacancy occurs between Dec. 10 and March 1, the writ must declare the special election date be within 30 days of the vacancy. The Senate president pro tempore will issue the writ since the legislature will be in session.
Bennett-Parker warned supporters that the special election “will have different hours and polling locations than standard elections.”
The 39th District leans heavily Democratic, covering all of Alexandria and parts of Arlington and Fairfax counties. Ebbin won his last election in November 2023 against Republican Sophia Moshasha.
Ebbin’s career
Born in Huntington, N.Y., on Nov. 10, 1963, Ebbin graduated from American University in 1985 with a degree in public communication and political science. He is a fellow of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute and completed Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Program.
First elected to the House of Delegates in 2003, Ebbin became the first openly LGBT person elected to the Virginia General Assembly. He moved to the Senate in 2012 after defeating two opponents in a closely watched Democratic primary.
In the Senate, Ebbin chairs the General Laws and Technology Committee and serves on the Finance and Appropriations, Commerce and Labor, Privileges and Elections, and Rules committees. He also sits on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, among numerous other studies and commissions.
His legislative achievements include passage of the Virginia Values Act, which established nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment and public accommodations. His work has earned recognition from groups including the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, Equality Virginia and the Virginia Education Association.
Ebbin is among several Northern Virginia legislators joining the Spanberger administration. Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, was recently tapped to become Virginia’s secretary of finance.
The 60-day legislative session begins Jan. 14, with Spanberger’s inauguration set for Jan. 17.
This is a developing story and will be updated.