Democrat Abigail Spanberger has been projected as winning the race for Virginia governor after a closely-watched election which her party hoped could signal a national trend.
The former congresswoman and CIA officer defeated the state’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, CBS News reported.
Virginia’s leadership usually swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome might serve as a bellwether for the electorate’s mood going into next year’s midterm elections.
High-profile races are also taking place on Tuesday in New York City, which is poised to possibly elect its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and New Jersey, which is also choosing a new governor.
Even though his name is not on the ballot, the elections happening around the US on Tuesday are being viewed as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s policies. This was particularly true in Virginia, home to the Pentagon and many federal workers who have been affected by Trump’s sweeping spending cuts.
Spanberger, a former CIA officer and three-term congresswoman, who campaigned alongside former President Barack Obama last weekend, will become the first woman to lead the state.
She will take over after four years under Republican Glenn Youngkin.
Virginia is bordered by the liberal-leaning Washington DC to the north, where many residents work in the nation’s capital or for the federal government. But the state also has large pockets of conservative voters throughout its rural districts, and swing voters.
Spanberger had highlighted the economic impact of Trump’s cuts to the federal government, which have impacted Virginia’s employment, and ran on a platform of increasing affordability.
Earle-Sears touted Virginia’s economy under Republican leadership and leaned into cultural topics like transgender issues, which Republicans used successfully as a wedge issue in last year’s presidential election.
Trump had not formally endorsed Earle-Sears, although he encouraged Virginia voters to back all the Republican candidates up for election.
In a telephone rally on Monday to drum up support, Trump repeatedly praised the candidate for New Jersey governor but never mentioned Earle-Sears by name, according to US media.
Trump and Earle-Sears have a complicated relationship, after she declined to support his 2024 election campaign.
“A true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage,” she said about Trump in 2022.
