Democrat Abigail Spanberger elected governor of Virginia | Virginia
Democrat Abigail Spanberger was elected Virginia’s first female governor, as her party posted victories in key elections in the southern state.
Spanberger, a former CIA and federal law enforcement official who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives after flipping a GOP-held district, was leading the state’s Republican lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, 57% to 43%, with 89% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press.
“We sent a message to every corner of the country, to our neighbors and to our American friends across the country,” Spanberger told supporters gathered at a convention center in the state capital, Richmond.
“We sent the message to the world that Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship in 2025. We chose our nation over chaos.”
Virginia had become increasingly Democratic in recent elections, and Spanberger had led Earle-Sears in polls for most of the race. He will replace Republican governor Glenn Youngkin, who is ineligible for re-election after serving the four consecutive years in office allowed by the state constitution.
This was the biggest success so far, with results showing that it was a great night for Democrats across the state.
The AP reported that the state’s Democratic senator, Gazala Hashmi, won the race for lieutenant governor, becoming the first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office in the United States. Former Democratic state delegate Jay Jones fired Republican attorney general Jason Miyares, even after the former’s campaign was rocked by the revelation of a text message Jones was considering. about “two bullets in the head” of a political rival.
State Democrats also appear on track to greatly expand their one-seat majority in the house of delegates. Although vote counting continues, they appear to have flipped several Republican-held districts in the 100-seat legislature.
The victories set the stage for a Democratic governing trio that could position itself as part of a group of states opposed to Donald Trump. More immediately, it would allow congressional maps to be redrawn in favor of Democratic candidates; a potential boon for the party’s hopes of taking back the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
“Trump and the Republicans have been attacking Virginia’s economy all year, but now they need to attack our governor-elect, and he’s going to stand on his own when it comes to Virginia families,” said Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Although his election was seen as a sign that Democrats were regaining momentum after disappointment in the 2024 elections, Spanberger did not join any of the “No Kings” protests against the president and largely avoided discussing Trump by name during the campaign. Instead, he emphasized his record as Virginia’s most bipartisan while in Congress and focused on how Democrats would address issues like guaranteeing health care and lowering the cost of living.
But in his victory speech, he nodded to Trump’s attack on federal workers, who make up a key Democratic stronghold constituency, especially northern Virginia.
“To those who are attacking our jobs and our economy across the Potomac, I will not remain silent while you attack Virginia’s workers,” he said. “I will fight every day for every job in Virginia – the jobs we have now and the jobs we bring to our state in the future. I will stand up to anyone who tries to harm our economy or the livelihoods of our Virginians.”
Trump had supported Earle-Sears, the first black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia. The lieutenant governor focused his campaign on the kind of culture war issues that boosted the president’s candidacy in last year’s presidential election, helping Youngkin take the governor’s mansion in 2021, less than a year into Joe Biden’s presidency.
But he was facing what has been called the “Virginia curse,” with the party from the White House winning the governor’s mansion in every election since 1976 – with a single exception.
Chris LaCivita, who managed Trump’s successful re-election campaign last year, criticized Earle-Sears after his loss. He wrote of X: “A bad candidate and a bad campaign have consequences; the Virginia governor’s race is a prime example.”
