RICHMOND, Va. — The Associated Press (AP) called Virginia’s gubernatorial race on Tuesday, Nov. 4, for Abigail Spanberger[D]. Spanberger defeated current Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears [R], with results called just under an hour after the polls closed.
Spanberger will be the first female governor of Virginia.
With 68% of the vote in, Spanberger had 55.6% of the vote, and Earle-Sears had 44.2%. Spanberger is a former U.S. Representative and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Officer, who flipped her district from red to blue during one of the nation’s most competitive House primaries in 2018.
The outgoing governor, Glenn Youngkin, is a Republican who could not run for re-election due to term limits, but maintained above-50% approval ratings throughout his governorship. Historically, Virginia has elected the out-of-power party in gubernatorial races, and has swung for Democrats in the last five presidential elections.
Spanberger’s campaign focused on the economy, affordability concerns, and reproductive rights, while criticizing Earle-Sears for her alignment with President Donald Trump[R] and her stances on social issues. Earle-Sears has served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor since 2022.
Notably, Democrats swept the statewide offices of the Commonwealth of Virginia, with Ghazala Hashmi[D] beating John Reid[R] for lieutenant governor, and Jay Jones[D] beating incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares[R]. Jones’ margin of victory was the slimmest of all statewide Virginia races, managing roughly 52.8% of the vote following several recent controversies that came to light over the past month.
Maryland and Virginia are close neighbors that often share values, resources, and workers. Maryland Governor Wes Moore[D] appeared on MSNBC soon after the AP’s call, saying, “It’s a great night for democracy,” in acknowledgement of the election. He also discussed Maryland’s redistricting efforts and issues he believes his party cares about: affordability, safety, and opportunity.
New Jersey is the only other governor’s race this year, a race that was called for Democrat Mikie Sherrill hours after the polls closed.
There are other local and municipal elections this season, including the race for mayor in Annapolis. Currently, Jared Littman[D] is leading the mayoral race with nearly 70% of the vote over his Republican opponent, Robert O’Shea.
Another notable election of the night came from the headline-grabbing New York City mayoral race. Zohran Mamdani[D] notably won after beating Andrew Cuomo[I] and Curtis Sliwa[R]. Mamdani previously beat Cuomo in the Democratic Primary Election earlier this year and went on to win the General Election with over 50% of the overall vote. The New York Board of Elections noted that roughly 2 million voters cast a ballot in the mayoral election, the highest turnout the city has seen since 1969.
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we don’t need to know the results for about another week
given that Congress has the gall to not have their e-mail address’s on their website,
(because they don’t want to be accessible? ) I’m concerned about Abigail getting in.
I wonder about Winsome. I wonder about girls having – names.
ok, ready for the results. hand counted paper ballots, right? + accurate election results, right? I have heard in some places the election results are inaccurate.