Former Democratic Congresswoman and CIA Operations Officer Abigail Spanberger has been elected governor of Virginia, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in Tuesday’s statewide race.

Major networks, including NBC News, projected Spanberger’s victory shortly before 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time with about 30 percent of the vote counted.

At the time of the call, Spanberger held 54.3 percent of the vote compared to Earle-Sears’ 45.5 percent, according to NBC News.

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The outcome reflected consistent polling and fundraising advantages for Spanberger throughout the campaign.

BREAKING: Democrats just flipped Virginia blue.

Abigail Spanberger, who stands for teaching children radical transgender ideology in schools, will be Virginia’s next governor.

Not sure how this happens. Insane.pic.twitter.com/SA0ZUGV5FF

— David Medina (@davidmedinapdx) November 5, 2025

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RealClearPolitics’ polling average showed the Democrat leading by 10.2 points heading into election day, signaling a comfortable win in what was widely viewed as a decisive test for both parties.

Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who scored a major upset in 2021, was unable to seek re-election due to Virginia’s one-term limit for governors.

That left Earle-Sears, the state’s lieutenant governor, as the Republican nominee.

Earle-Sears’ campaign focused heavily on criticizing Spanberger’s positions on transgender policies in K-12 schools and education-related parental rights. In the closing weeks of the race, she also condemned Spanberger for declining to publicly denounce Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, who came under national scrutiny after reports revealed violent text messages he sent in 2022 threatening political opponents.

Despite her alignment with several of President Donald Trump’s policies, Earle-Sears did not receive a formal endorsement from the President.

Trump, however, urged Virginia voters to support Republican candidates during the final days of campaigning.

“Why would anyone vote for New Jersey and Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, when they want transgender for everybody, men playing in women’s sports, High Crime, and the most expensive Energy prices almost anywhere in the World?” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters on October 19, Trump said, “I think the Republican candidate is very good and I think she should win because the Democrat candidate’s a disaster. So, I haven’t been too much involved in Virginia … I think the Republican candidate is excellent.”

Spanberger repeatedly sought to link Earle-Sears to Trump, attacking her refusal to disavow the administration’s policy initiatives, including staffing reductions through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The cuts affected large numbers of federal employees in northern Virginia, where the federal workforce forms a key part of the state’s economy.

“We need a governor who will support the thousands upon thousands of Virginia’s families whose livelihoods have been disrupted or destroyed because of DOGE and now this government shutdown,” Spanberger said during a campaign rally in Norfolk on Saturday, where she appeared alongside former President Barack Obama.

Though Spanberger presented herself as a centrist throughout the race, her recent positions indicate potential shifts toward the progressive wing of her party.

She has pledged to terminate Virginia’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has avoided answering whether she would uphold Governor Youngkin’s executive order banning biological males from participating in girls’ sports or using female locker rooms.

The election results will likely provide insight into whether Democrats have expanded their support among voters who previously backed President Trump.

Kamala Harris carried Virginia by just under six percentage points in 2024, while Trump lost the state in both 2016 and 2020.

Spanberger first entered Congress in 2018, when Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives.

She represented a competitive central Virginia district for three terms, earning a reputation as a moderate while at times criticizing the Democratic Party’s left wing.

In an interview with CNN last week, Spanberger commented on New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s progressive agenda, saying, “People do want us to be aspirational and dream big. They also don’t want us to lie to them.”

The final vote tally in Virginia is still being reported, but Spanberger’s projected win marks another statewide victory for Democrats in a year of competitive contests across the country.

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