Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
RICHMOND — Tuesday was a good night for Democrats. Abigail Spanberger, a former U.S. representative and federal law enforcement officer, will be Virginia’s first woman governor. State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi will be the first Asian American and Muslim in statewide office. And former Del. Jay Jones will be the first Black attorney general. It was a decisive victory. The Associated Press called the gubernatorial race just an hour after polls closed Tuesday night. Preliminary results show that more than 3.3 million people voted. Spanberger won with 57.8% of the vote to Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ 42.4%. In 2021, it was a far narrower margin: Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin won with 50.6% of the vote. “This was never about just winning an election, it’s about what comes next,” Spanberger said. “We are going to work to lower cost of renting, buying or staying in your home. We are going to cut red tape and build homes families can actually afford. We’re going to lower health care costs. We’re going to crack down on predatory pharmaceutical practices and surprise billing.” Spanberger spent much of the campaign focusing on economic issues and appealing to centrists and independents as a moderate capable of working across the aisle. Recent polling found that affordability issues like rising costs of rent ranked high among likely Virginia voters. At the Richmond Convention Center Tuesday night, Spanberger thanked her family, who joined her on stage as results came in. “Just a few minutes ago, Adam (my husband) said to our daughters, ‘Your mom’s going to be the governor of Virginia,'” she said. “I can guarantee those words have never been spoken in Virginia.” Hashmi beat out former conservative radio host and business John Reid with 55.7% of the vote. And Jones was successful in unseating Republican incumbent attorney general Jason Miyares with 53.3% of the vote. The challenge for Jones was to overcome a texting scandal that rocked his campaign last month and resulted in fellow Democratic candidates for statewide office distancing themselves from what had been a unified ticket. Jones led in the polls for much of the campaign, but that changed when it became public that three years ago he had sent texts where he mused about shooting the Republican then-speaker of the House of Delegates in the head. Jones apologized for the incident, but discussion of the texts dominated much of the remainder of the campaign. Republicans called on Jones to withdraw from the race, painting him as both violent and soft on crime. Because Virginia’s statewide candidates run as individuals and not as part of a joint ticket, there was some speculation that Miyares might have been able to eke out a win in spite of Spanberger’s clear lead, particularly after the texts became public. Miyares himself encouraged that strategy, talking with people who had voted for him and Spanberger and urging others to do the same. “Dave’s splitting his ticket — you can too,” he wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. Virginia will not break its 20-year streak of electing statewide officials from the same party, but Jones did underperform compared to Spanberger and Hashmi, and Miyares received more votes than Earle-Sears and Reid. Jones has made joining in on lawsuits against the Trump administration a central pillar of his campaign. “I will protect our jobs, our health care, and our economy from Donald Trump’s attacks,” he said at the Spanberger watch party in Richmond. Spanberger, Jones and Hashmi did not appear together on stage Tuesday night. Democrats also picked up at least 13 seats, for a total of 64, in the House of Delegates. It’s the first time Democrats have had a trifecta of power — the governor’s office and majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly — since 2021, and the first time they’ve had such a sizable majority in the lower chamber since the 1987 election. In Richmond Tuesday night, Spanberger thanked Earle-Sears for a hard fought-race. “I also know that those who were supporting my opponent are disappointed today,” she said. “And to those Virginians who did not vote for me, I want you to know that my goal and my intent is to serve all Virginians.” Earle-Sears gave a concession speech at a rally in Leesburg. “I have just called Abigail, and she did not answer, and she doesn’t have to answer,” she said. “I think she’s busy. So, it went to voicemail, and I left her a voicemail, and I asked her, ‘please consider all of us Virginians that she will represent, all of us, not just some of us.” The lieutenant governor said that she would help in any way she could to aid in that effort. Earle-Sears’ campaign devoted plenty of ad space social issues like transgender children in sports and locker rooms. Issues like parents’ rights and keeping discussions involving things like gender identity and race out of the classroom helped propel Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to victory in 2021. But four years later, those issues appeared less salient for voters; a poll from Christopher Newport University released last week found that Virginia likely voters were most concerned about threats to democracy, inflation, healthcare and immigration. “Virginia is not a radical leftist state, and we will hold to account anyone who tries to impose on us the ideology of the left,” Earle-Sears said. “We must offer our hands of cooperation, but the gesture comes with a warning: do not tread on me.” Virginia is one of two states in the country with a gubernatorial election in odd years following a presidential election and has historically been watched nationally as a referendum on the party in the White House and a prediction for the congressional midterms. The Democratic candidate in the New Jersey governor’s race won over the Donald Trump-endorsed Republican candidate. Tuesday’s election took place against a backdrop of an ongoing federal government shutdown and significant reductions to federal funding and workforce. Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881, kate.seltzer@virginiamedia.com
