Spanberger will be first-ever woman to serve as Virginia's governor.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Former U.S. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D) will be the first-ever woman to serve as Virginia's governor, according to the Associated Press.

Virginians chose Spanberger over her Republican opponent -- current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears -- by a 10-point margin.

Spanberger, who served as the U.S. Representative for Virginia's District 7 from 2015 until 2025, was the only Democrat to file to run in this year's gubernatorial race. Political analysts have described her as a "favorite" from the start, with her consistently polling ahead of Earle-Sears.

Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA case officer, won with a campaign emphasizing economic issues, a strategy that may serve as a model for other Democrats in next year’s elections as they try to break President Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ hold on power in Washington and gain ground in statehouses.

Throughout the campaign, Spanberger made carefully crafted economic arguments against Trump’s policies, while she spent considerable sums on ads tying Earle-Sears to the president. She campaigned across the state, including in Republican-leaning areas. Yet she also emphasized her support for abortion rights in the last Southern state that has not enacted new restrictions or bans on the procedure, and she railed against Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, the U.S. government shutdown and their negative impact on a state with several hundred thousand federal employees.

That approach helped corral Democrats’ core supporters while attracting the kinds of swing voters who elected Youngkin four years ago. It also continued a historical trend for Virginia: Since Jimmy Carter won the White House in 1976, Virginia has backed a governor from the opposite party of every first-term president in the following year. This year is a special case, given the gap between Trump’s terms.

Even in loss, Earle-Sears made history as the first-ever Black woman to be chosen as the Republican Party's nominee for Virginia governor. Previously, she was the first Black woman to serve as Virginia's lieutenant governor and the second woman of any race to hold a statewide office.

This reporting is based on preliminary election results from the AP. All election results are unofficial until certified by Virginia’s State Board of Elections.