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ReutersDemocrat Abigail Spanberger walks on stage before giving her victory speech over Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia's race for governor in Richmond, Virginia. Democrat Abigail Spanberger made history after she won the Virginia governor’s race on Tuesday (November 5, 2025), defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to become the first woman ever to lead the commonwealth and give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Her victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s office when she succeeds outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.“We sent a message to every corner of the commonwealth, a message to our neighbors and our fellow Americans across the country,” Spanberger told cheering supporters Tuesday night in Richmond, as quoted by news agency AP. "We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our commonwealth over chaos,” she added.In another development which took place during the day, Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi won the lieutenant governor's race and will succeed Earle-Sears. Hashmi is the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office in the U.S.Who is Abigail Spanberger? Born in Red Bank, Monmouth County, N.J., on August 7, 1979, Abigail Spanberger is a representative from Virginia. She graduated from J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico; United States Capitol Page School; earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., in 1996; and received an M.B.A. from Purdue University in 2002. Live EventsHer career includes roles as a teacher; postal inspector with the United States Postal Service; case officer with the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006 to 2014; and consultant. Elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress and the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 2019–January 3, 2025), she was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress in 2024.Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA case officer, won by emphasizing economic issues, a strategy that may serve as a model for other Democrats in next year’s elections as they try to break President Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ hold on power in Washington and gain ground in statehouses.Campaigning, Spanberger often sidestepped the historic potential of her candidacy. In victory, she embraced it. “Just a few minutes ago, Adam said to our daughters, your mom’s going to be the governor of Virginia. And I can guarantee those words have never been spoken in Virginia ever before,” she said, as quoted by AP.ALSO READ: Who is Rama Duwaji, wife of Zohran Mamdani, who played instrumental role in scripting her husband’s historic win in New York City mayoral race; here’s what you need to know“It’s a big deal that the girls and the young women I have met along the campaign trail now know with certainty that they can achieve anything," she added. Spanberger's eyes welled up as she told her family she loved them, as her husband and three daughters, standing behind her, wiped tears from their cheeks.Spanberger’s campaign Throughout the campaign, Spanberger made carefully crafted economic arguments against Trump’s policies, while she spent considerable sums on ads tying Earle-Sears to the president. She campaigned across the state, including in Republican-leaning areas, and in her first appearance as governor-elect she wore a bright red suit.Yet Spanberger also emphasized her support for abortion rights in the last Southern state that has not enacted new restrictions or bans on the procedure, and she railed against Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, the U.S. government shutdown and their negative impact on a state with several hundred thousand federal employees.That approach helped corral Democrats’ core supporters while attracting the kinds of swing voters who elected Youngkin four years ago. It also continued a historical trend for Virginia: Since Jimmy Carter won the White House in 1976, Virginia has backed a governor from the opposite party of every first-term president in the following year. This year is a special case, given the gap between Trump’s terms.Spanberger balanced policy and biographySpanberger, 46, promised to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of Trump’s second administration, which has culled the civil service, levied tariffs and shepherded a reconciliation bill curtailing the state’s already fragile health care system.Stephanie Uhl, a 38-year-old Defense Department employee, said the federal government shutdown was one reason she voted for Spanberger. Explaining that she is working without pay, she said, “I can afford (it) just fine,” but added that she's bothered “that it affects so many other people.”Spanberger's background also figured heavily into her victory. As a former CIA case officer, she noted her public service and national security credentials. And she pitched herself as the mother of daughters educated in Virginia’s public schools and a Capitol Hill veteran who represented a swing district and worked across the aisle.She won despite a late surprise that threatened Virginia’s Democratic ticket. In October, news reports revealed that Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, sent texts in 2022 suggesting the former Republican House speaker get “two bullets to the head.”Republicans across the U.S., including Trump and Earle-Sears, demanded Jones drop out. He apologized and said he was ashamed of the messages but declined to leave the race. The controversy dogged Spanberger. She condemned the text messages but stopped short of asking Jones to withdraw from the race, and she notably did not withdraw her endorsement. “I have denounced political violence, political rhetoric,” Spanberger said in her lone debate with Earle-Sears, “no matter who is leading the charge.”Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! 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