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Abigail Spanberger sworn in as Virginia’s first woman governor

Published January 17, 2026 at 5:45PM

Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Amid a cold drizzle, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday at the state Capitol as Virginia’s first female governor after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.

The inauguration of Spanberger, who defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, marks a new chapter in Virginia as Democrats pull the levers of power in state government while Republican President Donald Trump sits in the White House in neighboring Washington.

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How shifts in N. Va. and other populous areas turned Virginia more Democratic

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 13, 2026 at 2:45PM

John Milliken discusses Virginia's political evolution (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A recent presentation from a former local official examined Virginia’s three-decade statewide transformation from politically red to purple to now (maybe) blue.

John Milliken, former County Board member and Virginia Secretary of Transportation, explored the Old Dominion’s political evolution at the gubernatorial level from the narrow 2001 election of Mark Warner to the 2025 landslide bringing Abigail Spanberger into office.

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Spanberger becomes governor next week at full weekend of festivities in Richmond

By Emily Leayman

Published January 9, 2026 at 3:45PM

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger speaks during a campaign event with former President Barack Obama, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Abigail Spanberger is set to be sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor next week at an inauguration bookended by other events and festivities in Richmond.

The Democrat is scheduled to take the oath of office at noon on Saturday, Jan. 17 at the Virginia State Capitol Building, in the centerpiece of an inauguration weekend with the theme “United for Virginia’s Future.”

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Federal cuts are affecting the finances of most Virginia voters, poll finds

By The Associated Press

Published November 5, 2025 at 10:30PM

Alonzie Scott, a recently retired federal worker, is seen at an Arlington, Va., polling center on Tuesday, Nov. 4th, 2025. (AP Photo/Helen Wieffering)

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Not everyone who voted in Northern Virginia in Tuesday’s election has felt the impact of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal government, but even many who haven’t said they have colleagues or neighbors who are dealing with the consequences.

“I’ve seen so many federal families lose their jobs, lose their income, lose their certainty here,” said Karina Valdez, who voted at the Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center in Arlington.

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One Falls Church School Board seat too close to call while Arthur Agin wins City Council post

By Scott McCaffrey

Published November 5, 2025 at 2:45PM

Campaign signage for some of the winning Falls Church candidates (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Three incumbents and one newcomer on the Falls Church City Council ballot were elected yesterday (Tuesday), while the winner of the final seat on the School Board hangs in the balance.

Challenger Arthur Agin prevailed in the City Council race, as did incumbents Laura Downs, Marybeth Connelly and David Snyder. Agin will take the seat of Debora Schantz-Hiscott, who did not seek re-election, in January.

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UPDATED: Abigail Spanberger elected Virginia governor, Hashmi lieutenant governor

By The Associated Press

Published November 4, 2025 at 8:15PM | Updated November 4, 2025 at 10:23PM

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger speaks during a campaign event with former President Barack Obama, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first woman ever to lead the commonwealth.

Spanberger’s victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s office when she succeeds outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

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Virginia governor’s race will test Trump and Democrats nationally — and make history

By The Associated Press

Published November 4, 2025 at 12:15PM | Updated November 4, 2025 at 1:17PM

This combo image shows Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right. (AP Photo)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters are deciding a history-making race for governor Tuesday that will serve as a barometer of attitudes toward President Donald Trump and Democrats’ attempts to regain their footing on the national stage.

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, a staunch conservative who serves as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, and Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a center-left Democrat and former CIA case officer who helped her party win a House majority during Trump’s first presidency, are vying to become the first-ever woman to lead the commonwealth. Earle-Sears also would make history as the first Black woman elected governor in any state.

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Spanberger hosts Falls Church rally with Sens. Warner and Kaine

By Jared Serre

Published November 3, 2025 at 1:30PM

Abigail Spanberger speaks to a Falls Church crowd while Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner look on (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger hosted one of her final rallies of the election season in Falls Church yesterday (Sunday).

Helping the Democrat make her closing argument to Northern Virginia voters at the State Theatre ahead of Tuesday’s election were two men who previously held the governor’s seat: Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, the state’s incumbent U.S. senators.

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Spanberger backs Virginia legislature’s redistricting push

By The Associated Press

Published October 28, 2025 at 8:30AM

FILE - Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., speaks during an interview at Libbie Mill Library in Henrico County, Va., Nov. 25, 2024, after she announced she will run for Virginia governor. (AP Photo/Ryan M. Kelly, File)

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, said Monday that she would not oppose a push by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature to redraw congressional districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Virginia Democrats earlier in the day began taking steps to change the state’s constitution to allow for a new congressional map, a change that must ultimately be approved by voters before it becomes law. The change is designed to counter President Donald Trump’s push to create more partisan districts in several Republican-run states.

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Virginia gubernatorial candidates debate trans youth rights as LGBTQ+ voters weigh a fraught moment

By The Associated Press

Published October 25, 2025 at 3:00PM

People attend the Southwest Virginia Pride's annual festival Oct. 11, 2025, in Salem, Va. (AP Photo/Olivia Diaz)

SALEM, Va. (AP) — René Harvey and her wife arrived at a Roanoke Valley pride celebration in October carrying deep-seated worries about all that could go wrong.

The couple had been to the region’s annual pride festival before, but this year felt different. Harvey keeps up with the news, and the headlines describing political violence and LGBTQ+ hate linger with her. She’s been following Virginia’s statewide elections, including a race for governor that has heavily focused on trans youth.

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Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger spar over abortion in Virginia

By The Associated Press

Published October 21, 2025 at 2:45PM

This combo image shows Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right. (AP Photo)

PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) — Rae Pickett stepped onto Richell Hines’ front stoop wearing a pink T-shirt that foretold the case she hoped to make to Virginia voters as she knocked on doors on a sunny Saturday in early October.

“Abortion is on the ballot,” it read.

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Candidates in Virginia governor’s debate clash over shutdown and violent rhetoric

By The Associated Press

Published October 9, 2025 at 11:15PM

This combo image shows Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right. (AP Photo)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia gubernatorial candidates Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger faced off Thursday for the first and only time on the debate stage in a fiery affair that was combative from the very first answer.

Earle-Sears, perceived by operatives in both parties to be trailing, went on the offensive throughout the hourlong clash, interrupting almost every one of Spanberger’s answers and referring to the congresswoman only by her first name.