Many political viewers in Virginia were gearing up to watch the 2026 U.S. Senate race between state Sen. Bryce Reeves and long-time incumbent Sen. Mark Warner. However, the week began with news that Reeves was pulling out of the race to focus on the health of a loved one.

On the plus-side, he will remain in the Virginia Senate.

We sat down with Reeves to talk about what brought him to step out of the contest, what happens next, and what will happen in January when the General Assembly convenes.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Joe Thomas: Thanks for listening to this bonus episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast.” I’m your host, Joe Thomas, Virginia correspondent for The Daily Signal.

Before we dive into today’s interview, I want to thank you for tuning in today. If you’re a first-time listener, The Daily Signal brings you fact-based reporting and conservative commentary on politics, policy, and culture. And I hope you join our band of regular listeners to our podcast.

If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and also take a moment to rate and review us wherever you get your podcast. You can find additional content at DailySignal.com. Now, let’s get started with today’s conversation right after this. Mark Warner will spare no time telling you he is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee for a few years, even its chair. He never leaves.

And is there a more tensile position in the U.S Senate than the Intelligence Committee right now as we look at the statecraft that’s being employed both inside and outside of the United States, and what is really happening in a lot of these stories.

So when he faced a challenger coming up in the midterms, that was a big story. A big story yesterday was that challenger bowed out of the race early because of health concerns within his family. He’s joining us now, Virginia state Sen. Bryce Reeves.

Bryce, good morning, sir. How are you doing today? And prayers for your family. I hope all is going well.

Bryce Reeves: Good morning and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year coming. And yeah, we were disappointed, to say the least. We had put in a lot of effort so far, and we feel like that we would have made a pretty good challenger to Mark Warner.

You know the guy promised that he would only be there two terms and now he’s 18 years in, and he has TDS so bad that he’s not … well, in military terms, would call him combat ineffective.

He’s not focusing on working, trying to work with the administration at all on anything. And that’s not good. We’ve got to have, he even said it, fresh ideas and fresh leadership. And hopefully, the party will be able to find that person in this process.

I’ve been longtime friends ever since we first won that first election. We know our families. You know, it was a critical decision that needed to be made. I’ve lived by the motto to honor God, love my family, and protect the country. And I can’t protect the country if I can’t do the first two. And my significant other’s mother is very, very ill. And we were notified of that on Christmas.

And in order to run statewide—it’s for your listeners—I tried it once before, as you know. We did 154,000 traveling miles in 15 months, and there’s no downtime. You’re sitting in a car, you’re making calls for funds, and if you’re not doing that, then you’re eating a whole chicken on a six-inch plate with a toothpick.

And for anybody that’s really thought about it, it’s not the easiest job in the world to try to hold a full-time job, being an elected member and run for statewide office. That’s just too much. And there’s just no way I could do it and be faithful to what I need to be faithful to. And so, we’re doing what we should be doing.

We’re gonna be focused on going back into session this year, a very important session, I think, with the new governor, trying to make sure we don’t lose everything that we’ve worked for under Gov. [Glenn] Youngkin’s leadership the last four years.

But there’s been a lot of bills filed. And I think the Senate is going to be critically important this year, Joe, as you and I have talked, that the Senate is going to be the backstop, I think, if we can pull one or two of my colleagues that I find to be a little more moderate over on some of these very extreme positions.

Thomas: Well, for those who don’t know, Virginia’s Senate is only separated by a seat. There’s 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans. And so, all you need to do is get one to come over and ties, especially when it comes to constitutional amendments like the abortion law that they’re trying to open up abortions all the way to the moment of birth without even a second opinion from a doctor or a family member.

It’s amazing to think about these things, but beyond that, tearing up the Virginia Constitution for redistricting, Bryce, do you think, given the fact that the Virginia Senate voted overwhelmingly for the nonpartisan redistricting commission that drew these congressional districts in the first place, is there somebody we can shame into saying, “Hold it, you voted against this four years ago, five years ago.” As you said, win over that one vote, and all of a sudden, it’s not an issue anymore.

Reeves: Well, there are, but you know, Louise Lucas and leader Scott Surovell have both come out with statements saying they’re going to move forward. Sen. VanValkenburg was one of the greatest advocates for the committee structure that we have now that’s drawn by a committee in which … they couldn’t reach consensus last time, and a three-judge panel........

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