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's 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 word 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.
Spanberger won despite a late surprise that threatened Virginia’s Democratic ticket. In October, news reports revealed that Jones had sent text in 2022 suggesting the former Republican House speaker get “two bullets to the head.”
Republicans across the U.S., including Trump and Earle-Sears, demanded Jones drop out. He apologized and said he was ashamed of the messages but declined to leave the race.
Spanberger condemned the text messages but stopped short of asking Jones to withdraw from the race, and she notably did not withdraw her endorsement.
