Spanberger launches 2025 bid for Virginia governor

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Abigail Spanberger is making an early case to become Virginia’s next governor in 2025.

“I am running for governor because I believe that Virginia’s at an inflection point,” said Spanberger, a Democrat.

On Monday, the U.S. congresswoman made that bid official with a digital launch. Spanberger, who worked in law enforcement and at the CIA before turning to Congress, says she wants to become governor because the state is at an inflection point.

During an interview with NBC12, Spanberger pointed to last week’s election results and the fight over abortion rights. The mother of three says she’s good at building coalitions to tackle challenges, such as the economy and public education.

“Virginia continues to have a teacher shortage, school bus driver shortage and that’s impacting the very function of our public schools. We need a governor who is focused on recruiting and retaining talent in the classroom,” said Spanberger.

While the 44-year-old is the first to make it official, others will be running for governor too. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney will announce his bid by the end of the year.

On the Republican side, both Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares are eyeing runs as well.

“This will be a very interesting race because you’re going to have a very competitive primary for the Democrats and maybe even for the Republicans too. And then you’ll have a very competitive general election,” said Larry Sabato of the UVA Center for Politics.

If elected as Virginia’s 75th governor, Spanberger would make history as the commonwealth’s first female executive. Sabato says the race will come down to money and who can raise the cash needed to win.

“She has a leg up because she’s able to raise money quickly, and she’s still serving in Congress, that also helps her to raise money,” said Sabato.

In the last election for governor, Terry McAuliffe spent $69 million and Glenn Youngkin raised $68 million.

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