Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) Tuesday night to become Virginia‘s first female governor in the commonwealth’s history.
Several outlets have called the race for Spanberger, who holds 57% to Earle-Sears’s 42.6% of the vote as of 8 p.m., according to the Virginia elections site. Spanberger flipped the governor’s mansion blue four years after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) won the gubernatorial race in 2021, the first time a Republican had won since 2009.
Supporters of Spanberger burst into cheers and applause as outlets called the race for her at the Greater Richmond Convention Center within an hour of polls closing.
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The former Democratic representative headed into Election Day with momentum on her side. Spanberger led Earle-Sears in both polling and fundraising throughout the entire 2025 cycle.
Spanberger spent the majority of her campaign attacking Republicans over President Donald Trump‘s second administration and its impact on Virginia, specifically the Department of Government Efficiency‘s gutting of the federal workforce.
“These are attacks on Virginians and on our economy, and we need a governor who will stand up against them,” Spanberger said at a rally with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The ongoing government shutdown only added more fuel to Spanberger’s message that Virginia needed new leadership to guide the Old Dominion back into prosperity.
Several high-profile Democrats came to Spanberger’s aid in the final weeks of the campaign cycle, including former President Barack Obama, as well as former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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The Democratic National Committee poured in more than $3 million in Virginia’s off-year elections, while the Democratic Governors Association contributed at least $5 million. Ken Martin, chairman of the DNC, claimed a win in Virginia and in New Jersey, the other state holding a gubernatorial election this year, would be “a shot in the arm for Democrats,” during a call with reporters.
The Virginia race is largely seen as a political bellwether ahead of the 2026 midterms. Youngkin’s win in 2021 foreshadowed the GOP snatching back control of the House in 2022 and Trump’s win in 2024.