Four short days after Abigail Spanberger visited Ashland, Virginia, on the last stretch of her “Virginia Votes” bus tour, voters across Hanover and beyond flocked to the polls to vote for the next Governor of Virginia. This Governor’s race was historic, with two women candidates: Abigail Spanberger (D) and Winsome Earle-Sears (R), meaning the Commonwealth was guaranteed to elect a woman Governor for the first time in Virginia’s history. In a close but definitive race, Spanberger defeated Earle-Sears by over 14 percentage points, and the race was called by the Associated Press around 8PM EST on Tuesday night.
Prior to her bid for Governor, Spanberger served three terms in the House of Representatives, representing Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. She was frequently cited as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress, and her campaign took a similarly centrist approach, emphasizing a commitment to “strengthening our public schools, keeping our communities safe, making Virginia more affordable, and protecting our fundamental rights.”
On October 31st, an eager crowd of voters of all ages gathered at the Town Hall Pavilion in Downtown Ashland to hear Spanberger speak. Despite the chilly morning weather, the crowd was energized— some voters even brought their Halloween spirit to the rally.
During her speech, Spanberger expressed concerns driving her campaign to the crowd. Concerns about the cost of living, the ongoing government shutdown, and insecurity within the job market after mass layoffs in the federal workforce earlier this year, were all issues cited by Spanberger. Virginians across the Commonwealth are facing economic insecurity and battling hopelessness in an increasingly polarized political climate.
However, Spanberger believes that her campaign can provide a more hopeful future for the Commonwealth, as she stated: “People have been excited and engaged and focused on what is possible with this election. And the reality is, that excitement comes amid a lot of challenge…and people across Virginia are feeling it, but importantly, people across Virginia refuse to give up hope about what is possible when we elect leaders who stand up for Virginia, and put Virginia first day in and day out.”
Spanberger was motivated to run for Governor in 2023, after serving multiple terms in the House, when she realized that “…so many of the challenges that our communities are and were facing…can be addressed at the federal level, but in Richmond, they can be addressed decisively… and the impact on people’s lives can be so much faster.” She realizes that Virginians are united in these challenges, saying “Everywhere I went, people were talking about issues of affordability, housing, healthcare…wanting to ensure that our kid’s schools are the best in the country, wanting legislators to focus on recruiting and retaining teachers.” As Democrats across the country have struggled to broaden their coalition in the 2024 Presidential Election and beyond, Spanberger was able to articulate her message in a way that spoke to the heart of issues that Virginians are facing every day. She highlighted the importance of the Governor’s race and voter turnout, emphasizing the ripple effects which local elections can have on the nation at large.
Additionally, Spanberger reflected on her experiences as a mother to three daughters, and how they have shaped her decisions throughout her career— from the CIA, to Congress, the Governor’s office and beyond. As Spanberger and her opponent prepared to break a nearly 250-year glass ceiling, striving to become the first woman to serve as Governor, she concluded her address to Ashland voters with an inspiring message for the young women of Virginia in particular:
“If ever there’s a little girl who tells her family that she wants to go home to Virginia, I want her parents to be able to afford a house in the community they want to live in. I want that little girl to go to a school where she is safe within its walls, and her teachers are well paid and well respected. I want that little girl’s parents to have the ability to find jobs to provide for their family. I want the air that she breathes and the water that she drinks to be safe and clean. I want that little girl to know that any dream she might have is hers for the making, and I want that little girl to know that as she grows older, her rights will be respected. I want that little girl and every one of her peers, in every corner of Virginia, to know that whatever they may dream of being or doing in their future, is possible because those of us with votes and voices…made it so.”
On the night of November 4th, 2025, Abigail Spanberger’s ambitions became reality, and she became the Governor-elect of the Commonwealth of Virginia. For that little girl in her speech, for many hard-working young women and men alike, watching across the Commonwealth, Spanberger’s election is a beacon of hope — but as she stated in her acceptance speech: “Now that the campaign is over, the real work begins.”
