Virginia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger will be the next governor of Virginia and the first female governor of the state after defeating her opponent, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R).
The race was called by CNN. Spanberger received 55.1 percent of the vote, or 781,743 votes, while Earle-Sears received 44.7 percent of the vote, or 634,016 votes.
Spanberger, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, and Earle-Sears, a United States Marine Corps veteran, were vying to replace current Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), due to the state not allowing governors to serve back-to-back terms.
An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey conducted between October 30-31, 2025, of 880 likely voters found that Spanberger received 55 percent of support, while Earle-Sears received 44 percent of support, the Hill reported.
A poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group between November 1-2, 2025, of 1,057 likely general election voters found that 49.8 percent of respondents would vote for Spanberger, while 43.3 percent said they would vote for Earle-Sears.
Spanberger had been endorsed by former President Barack Obama, and in one campaign ad for Spanberger, Obama spoke about the issue of abortion, stating that Republicans would “keep attacking abortion rights.”
“We know Republicans will keep attacking abortion rights and the rights of women,” Obama said in the advertisement. “That’s why having the right governor matters, and I’m proud to endorse Abigail Spanberger.”
Breitbart News reported that Spanberger had vowed that if elected governor, she would overturn Youngkin’s Executive Order from February that directed state police and local law enforcement to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify and apprehend illegal aliens in the state.
The state notably voted for former President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
