Democrat Abigail Spanberger wins Virginia gubernatorial election

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA - NOVEMBER 01: Former U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger raise their arms together during a campaign rally in the Chartway Arena on November 01, 2025 in Norfolk, Virginia. Spanberger will face off against Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s off-year election for governor and other statewide offices on November 4. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) — Former U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger raise their arms together during a campaign rally in the Chartway Arena on November 01, 2025 in Norfolk, Virginia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Sophia Flores and Brooke Mallory
5:05 PM – Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Democrat Abigail Spanberger has defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to become Virginia’s next governor — and the first woman to hold the office in the state’s 246-year history.

On Tuesday, Virginians took to the polls to vote for who they believe should be the next governor of the “Old Dominion,” as their current governor, Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.), is ineligible to run for re-election due to already serving two terms.

With 39% of the vote in, Abigail Spanberger beat out Winsome Earle-Sears soon after the polls closed. The outcome was not all that surprising to residents in the state, however, as the Democrat maintained a lead over her Republican opponent throughout the race.

Virginia’s soon-to-be governor, Abigail Spanberger, is a former congresswoman, first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 and serving until January this year. During her tenure in Congress, she was outspoken in her opposition to President Donald Trump, voting repeatedly against policies proposed by his administration. Former President Barack Obama also provided significant support to Spanberger during her campaign, helping boost her “visibility” and voter turnout in the final stretch.

Spanberger ran her campaign on a continuation of liberal policies that increase government spending, raising taxes on residents and weakening traditional values.

Under her “Growing Virginia Plan,” Spanberger proposed expansive workforce programs, dual-enrollment initiatives, and infrastructure investment — something that Republicans maintain will bring more unnecessary taxes and debt burdens on hard-working Virginia families. Spanberger is also in alignment with left-wing social agenda issues. She supports access to abortion, contraception, and in vitro fertilization (IVF). She has backed legislation to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law and has expressed support for maintaining access to abortions across state lines. As governor, Spanberger has also stated that she would sign legislation protecting these “rights” in Virginia.

Additionally, Spanberger supports same-sex marriage and transgender-identifying male athletes competing against biological females. She voted against the federal Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, which restricts participation in girls’ and women’s sports by biological males. However, her public statements do not provide detailed positions on all aspects of transgender participation in sports.

Her Republican opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2001, taking office in 2002, following her service in the U.S. Marine Corps. She later served as vice president of the Virginia State Board of Education and, in 2022, made history as the 42^nd Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and the first woman and first woman of color ever elected to statewide office in the Commonwealth.

Earle-Sears’s campaign slogan, “Operation Defend & Deliver,” draws directly from her Marine Corps service. Earle-Sears had pledged to protect the policy gains secured under Governor Youngkin’s administration, and she structured her 2025 gubernatorial campaign around three interlocking pillars: public safety, the economy, and the rising cost of living — each with specific, actionable policies rooted in her conservative philosophy and Marine Corps discipline.

On crime, she had vowed to end Democrat-led catch-and-release policies. Regarding the economy, she aimed to expand the workforce and create new opportunities through investments in technical training. To ease the cost of living, she pushed for tax relief, including the elimination of the car tax. She also opposed regional greenhouse gas initiatives (RGGI), calling it a “hidden tax” on electricity, and supported all-of-the-above energy, including natural gas, nuclear, and offshore drilling, to lower utility bills.