Black Republican Winsome Earle-Sears loses Virginia governor's race to Democrat Abigail Spanberger

Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor's race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first woman ever to lead the commonwealth.

- By OLIVIA DIAZ and BILL BARROW

Spanberger's win was the first in a big night for Democrats in Virginia and around the country, casting new doubts about President Donald Trump’ political strength less than a year into his second White House term.

“We sent a message to every corner of the commonwealth, a message to our neighbors and our fellow Americans across the country,” Spanberger told supporters Tuesday night in Richmond. “We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our commonwealth over chaos.”

Also Tuesday, Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi won the lieutenant governor's race and will succeed Earle-Sears. Hashmi is the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office in the U.S. And in a night of firsts, Democratic challenger Jay Jones defeated Republican Jason Miyares to become the state's first Black attorney general and complete a Democratic sweep of the commonwealth’s statewide posts. Democrats also retained control of the state legislature.