Wendy Gooditis, a former teacher and home schooling parent, has been a real estate broker and a member of a group called Planned Parenthood Advocates. She is supported by a women's organization called Emerge that trains women candidates for office. Her interest in running for office was enhanced by the Women's March in Washington after Donald Trump's election as president.

David Reid, businessman and naval reserve veteran, is running for (according to one blog) the fourth most likely Virginia House of Delegate seat to be flipped from Republican to Democrat in the 2017 election. Once upon a time, politicians in the United States spoke about growing up in a log cabin. Reid recalls growing up, with his divorced father and his siblings, in a cinder block house without running water, spending six years in an orphanage, and spending time in a foster family. Reid's naval experience and his business experience are his preparation for politics. He was a naval Intelligence Officer until he retired as a Commander in 2011.