23:41Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee, prior U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger celebrates upon appearing onstage during her election night gathering, November 4, 2025, situated in Richmond, Virginia. Win McNamee/Getty Images
The Democratic hopeful, former U.S. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, achieved a milestone Tuesday as projections favored her victory in the Virginia gubernatorial contest, defeating current Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and achieving the distinction of being the first woman chosen for the role.
"This evening, we communicated a message," Spanberger told an elated gathering of followers throughout an address after her projected triumph.
She went on to say, "We communicated a message to the entire globe that, in 2025, Virginia favored practicality above partisanship. We favored our commonwealth ahead of disorder."
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee, prior U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger celebrates upon appearing onstage during her election night gathering, November 4, 2025, situated in Richmond, Virginia.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Spanberger, who maintained a consistent advantage over Earle-Sears in the majority of surveys since last year, made the focal point of her campaign improving the economy and decreasing living expenses for Virginians during the course of the election.
The consequences of the Virginia gubernatorial election — which takes place amid an off-year for elections — are frequently regarded as a political gauge for closely contested races within the midterms in the subsequent year.
The governor’s race garnered substantial awareness this year given that Virginia is home to over 300,000 federal employees, numerous of whom were probably impacted by initiatives undertaken by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency to lessen the federal employee count and the present governmental shutdown that possesses no clear ending point.
Historical Triumph within Number Two Contest
Democratic contender for Lieutenant Governor, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi, gestures at a gathering for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, Nov. 1, 2025, residing in Norfolk, Virginia.Steve Helber/AP
ABC News similarly projected that Democratic candidate Ghazala Hashmi would secure her race for lieutenant governor, overcoming Republican John Reid.
Hashmi attains the distinction of being the first Muslim woman elected to a statewide role throughout U.S. history.
A previous state legislator, she reversed her Richmond locality state-senate seat to blue back in 2019, aiding Democrats to mount a significant takeover of the statehouse, is t
What Initial Exit Poll Information Unveils Regarding Spanberger’s Triumph
Leading the ticket, Spanberger achieved her anticipated victory with robust backing from independent voters and endorsement from voters concerned about the economy, as per initial ABC News exit surveys.
Approaching half of Virginia voters expressed that the economy was the paramount issue encountering the commonwealth, and they supported Spanberger by around 20 percentage points, according to the initial exit surveys.
In the company of independent voters throughout Virginia, Spanberger led by a double-digit margin, as per preliminary exit surveys. During the 2021 gubernatorial election in the Commonwealth, Republican Glenn Youngkin, who was victorious in the election, had support from over half of independents.
Roughly 6 out of 10 Virginia voters mentioned that federal government reductions affected their family’s finances — and by around a 2-to-1 margin, they supported Spanberger ahead of Earle-Sears, as indicated by the initial exit surveys.
Spanberger similarly observed substantial endorsement from voters driven by the subject of abortion. Nearly 6 out of 10 Virginia voters voiced that abortion ought to be legal in each or most circumstances — and 8 out of 10 of these voters supported Spanberger, according to the preliminary exit surveys.
What transpired on the Campaign Trail
Throughout the campaign, Earle-Sears overlooked no possibility to try and link Spanberger to Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones’ recent texting scandal, in which he was revealed to have advocated for violence directed towards a Republican lawmaker. At this month’s gubernatorial debate, Earle-Sears pursued Spanberger for declining to request Jones to withdraw from the race in a moment that the Earle-Sears campaign developed into an advertisement.
"Would it necessitate him pulling the trigger? Is that what it would take?" Earle-Sears wondered. "What if he articulated it about your three children? Is that when you would declare it’s time to exit the race, Abigail?"
And employing a strategy reminiscent of the one Donald Trump utilized in 2024 against Kamala Harris, Earle-Sears has introduced a series of advertisements attacking Spanberger for her stance concerning the rights of transgender students in Virginia schools. Nonetheless, surveys do not imply that Earle-Sears’ assaults are connecting with Virginians, who cite threats to democracy, inflation, and health care as their primary concerns in this election, according to a recent poll originating from Christopher Newport University.
According to the same survey, Spanberger preceded Earle-Sears by seven points as the race neared its conclusion.
Earle-Sears did not secure a direct endorsement from Trump and during a tele-rally for Virginia’s Republican contenders on Monday evening, Trump did not cite her by name.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
