GOP State Senator Reeves Launches 2026 US Senate Bid, Aims to Unseat Warner

Virginia state Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, launched his campaign Wednesday for the U.S. Senate, setting up a high-stakes 2026 challenge to three-term Democratic Sen. Mark Warner.

Reeves made his announcement on social media, leaning heavily on his background in the military, law enforcement and the General Assembly.

“I’ll never back down when it comes to protecting Virginia,” Reeves wrote. “From the Army to walking the streets as a cop to the State Senate, I have always put our families first. Now I am running for U.S. Senate to protect our way of life and secure a stronger future.”

Reeves could not immediately be reached by phone Wednesday.

Democrats quickly moved to cast him as out of step with the state. Chris Bolling, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said Reeves’ campaign is proof Republicans are already looking past this fall’s elections.

“In yet another sign that Republicans have given up on this year’s governor’s race, candidates are starting to announce for elections over a year away,” Bolling said. He dismissed Reeves as “a perennial candidate who is best known for running and losing elections” and argued that his record would weigh him down.

“Now he’s gearing up to lose another by tying himself to (President Donald) Trump’s deeply unpopular agenda of cutting taxes for the richest while attacking Virginians’ health care,” Bolling said.

He pointed out that Reeves opposed Medicaid expansion in Virginia, which he noted has provided coverage to hundreds of thousands across the commonwealth. “Virginians know Mark Warner delivers results and they won’t trade that for another Trump loyalist looking for a promotion,” Bolling added.

According to his campaign website, Reeves, 58, grew up in modest circumstances, often citing his mother’s advice that education was about service and leadership. He and his brother were the first in their family to attend college, with Reeves earning recognition as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Texas A&M before serving as an Army Ranger and infantry officer.

After leaving the military, Reeves worked as a narcotics detective in Prince William County. He later entered politics, winning a seat in the Virginia Senate in 2011.

Following redistricting, Reeves was elected in 2023 to represent the newly drawn 28th District, which covers Culpeper, Greene, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties, as well as portions of Fauquier and Spotsylvania counties.

In the Senate, he serves on the Commerce and Labor, Finance and Appropriations, General Laws and Technology, and Rehabilitation and Social Services committees. He also co-chairs the General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus and the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Military and Veterans Affairs Task Force.

In recent years, Reeves has pursued legislation on issues ranging from hate crimes to fentanyl trafficking.

In 2024, he carried a bill to update Virginia’s hate crime statutes to better address rising antisemitism and other forms of ethnic animosity. He also sponsored legislation that classified non-medical fentanyl as a “weapon of terrorism” and pushed for the establishment of a Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Advisory Committee.

Reeves backed economic ties with Taiwan, sponsoring a bill that ultimately led Gov. Glenn Youngkin to order a cost-benefit analysis of opening a Virginia trade office there.

Outside the Capitol, Reeves has cultivated an image as a community volunteer and conservative family man. He lives in Orange County with his two dogs, Ozzy and Gator, and has served as a youth football and lacrosse coach, a Christian deacon and missionary and a mentor.

Reeves says that experience fuels his bid to represent Virginia in Washington. His website portrays him as a fighter who “will lead the fight against the radical left, defend our conservative values, and work with President Trump to deliver real results.”

Warner, a former governor first elected to the Senate in 2008, has not formally announced his reelection bid but is widely expected to run. Seen as a centrist Democrat, Warner — who  served as Virginia’s governor from 2002 to 2006 — has won three consecutive terms, though Republicans view the seat as a potential pickup if national trends break their way.

Reeves is the second Republican to officially declare for the race, after Fairfax County resident Kim Farington announced her bid.

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.