Nationwide — Abigail Spanberger, a 46-year-old former CIA operative and three-term congresswoman, is Virginia’s next governor — defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a vocal MAGA supporter who sought to make history as the state’s first Black woman governor. Spanberger’s win also makes her the first woman ever elected to Virginia’s highest office, according to Decision Desk HQ.
According to 19th News, throughout the campaign, Spanberger focused on lowering the cost of living, improving public education, and rejecting the “chaos” of President Donald Trump’s second term. Her calm, policy-driven approach resonated with voters weary of political division. Democrats not only captured the governor’s mansion but were also projected to sweep all three statewide offices, signaling growing voter frustration with the GOP’s direction under Trump’s influence.
Earle-Sears, a Jamaican-born Marine veteran and the state’s lieutenant governor, made national headlines as a proud Black conservative who embraced the MAGA movement. She ran on continuing the policies of outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and made the exclusion of transgender individuals from women’s spaces a central part of her campaign. Despite her loss, Earle-Sears made history as the first Black Republican woman to win her party’s nomination for governor.
Spanberger’s campaign leaned heavily on economic issues, emphasizing the financial struggles facing Virginia families. She criticized Republican policies for raising costs on food, healthcare, and small businesses. Republicans, meanwhile, attacked her positions on immigration and education, but Spanberger — a mother of three daughters in public school — used her national security background to push back and appeal to suburban and independent voters.
In her victory speech, Spanberger celebrated the historic nature of her win, standing alongside her husband and daughters. “It’s a big deal that the girls and young women I’ve met along the campaign trail now know with certainty that they can achieve anything,” she said, acknowledging the women who paved the way for her, including Mary Sue Terry, the first woman ever elected statewide in Virginia.
While Earle-Sears failed to secure an endorsement from Donald Trump, she maintained support from Virginia’s conservative base. Her defeat underscores the difficulty MAGA-aligned candidates face in swing states. As Spanberger and other Democrats like New Jersey’s new governor, Mikie Sherrill, prepare for the 2026 midterms, Virginia’s results may serve as a blueprint for how moderates can prevail by focusing on affordability and rejecting political extremism.