ABC News projects that Democrat Abigail Spanberger will win the gubernatorial election, beating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and becoming the first woman elected governor of Virginia.
With just under half the expected vote, Spanberger, a former U.S. representative who had maintained a steady lead in polls leading up to Election Day, led Earle-Sears by about 10 points: 55% to 44%.
ABC News also projected a victory for Democrat Ghazala Hashmi in the race for lieutenant governor and Democrat Jay Jones in the race for attorney general.
“Tonight we sent a message,” Spanberger told a crowd of cheering fans.
He added: “We send a message to the entire world that in 2025 Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We choose our Commonwealth over chaos.”
Republicans hoped to keep their hands on the governorship, currently held by term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin, while Democrats sought to capitalize on the reaction to the federal government layoffs, which have been keenly felt in Virginia.
The results of Virginia’s gubernatorial election, held in a non-election year, are considered a political barometer for competitive races in the following year’s midterm elections.
The gubernatorial race is of particular interest this year because Virginia is home to more than 300,000 federal workers, many of whom were likely affected by efforts by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency to cut the federal workforce and the ongoing government shutdown.
According to preliminary data from ABC’s exit poll, about half of Virginia voters said the economy was the most important issue facing the Commonwealth, and a majority of Virginia voters said federal government cuts are affecting their finances.
Spanberger’s victory can be seen as a referendum on Trump’s second term in a state he lost three times by considerable margins.
Winsome Earle-Sears, Republican candidate for governor of Virginia, October 25, 2025 and Democratic candidate for governor, former US Representative Abigail Spanberger, September 19, 2025.
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Both candidates discussed issues such as energy, education and immigration enforcement on the road and during their debate in October.
In the vote, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi was the projected winner over Republican John Reid. in the race for lieutenant governor, which is voted on separately from the governor.
With her projected victory, Hashmi is the first Muslim woman elected statewide in the United States, her campaign said.
Virginia State Senator and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Candidate Ghazala Hashmi and Republican Lieutenant Governor Candidate John Reid, April 30, 2025.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
In the race for attorney general, Democratic candidate and former member of the House of Delegates Jay Jones was projected to win over Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.
Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, October 16, 2025 and Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, October 16, 2025.
AP
Jones had faced calls from Republicans to drop out of the race in October after Jones’ recent texting scandal, in which it was revealed that he had called for violence against a Republican lawmaker. Jones apologized for the text messages and said he will be “accountable for my mistakes.”
