Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday he will hold a special election in early January to replace Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Prince William), who will resign as lawmaker to focus on her run for governor.

Carroll Foy, from Prince William County, was the first Democrat to announce her campaign back in May. She would be the first woman elected governor of the commonwealth.

“I’m stepping down from the House of Delegates to focus 100% of my time on building a grassroots movement to meet this moment,” Carroll Foy said in a campaign video released this morning. “I understand the problems that we face because I lived them, and I will tackle the problems that impact working families like yours and mine.”

Northam said the special election will be held on Jan. 5, 2021. Candidates can file to appear on the ballot until Dec. 14, 2020.

Carroll Foy is a public defender and mother to toddler twins. She was pregnant when she was first elected to the General Assembly in 2017. During her two terms, she has been outspoken on gender, labor, and environmental issues. She sponsored the bill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, pushed for paid family leave for all workers, and helped broker an agreement to clean up toxic coal ash in the state.

Under Virginia’s constitution, governors can only serve one consecutive term, so Gov. Ralph Northam (D) cannot run in the Nov. 2021 race. However, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), may run for reelection. Other Democrats who have already entered the race include Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and State Sen. Jennifer McClellan. Two Republicans are running for governor as well: Del. Kirk Cox and State Sen. Amanda Chase.

In the video announcing her decision to step down from the legislature, Carroll Foy said that as governor, she would work to rebuild following the pandemic. “Helping families and workers recover and building a post-COVID economy will be tough, but so are we.”

This story was updated with information about a special election to replace Carroll Foy.