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Abigail Spanberger
Governor-elect of Virginia (born 1979) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Abigail Anne Davis Spanberger[1] (/ˈspænbɜːrɡər/ SPAN-bur-gər; née Davis; born August 7, 1979) is an American politician and former intelligence officer who is the governor-elect of Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, she served from 2019 to 2025 as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district.
Spanberger was elected governor of Virginia in 2025, defeating Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears. Upon taking office, she will be the state's first female governor.
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Early life and education
Spanberger was born Abigail Anne Davis[2] in Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 7, 1979,[3] to her father, Martin Davis, a police officer, and her mother, Eileen Davis, a nurse.[4][5][6] She knew from a young age that she wanted to be a spy, writing her diary in code.[4]
Her family moved often when she was young, living in Maine, the New York City area, and Philadelphia, before settling in Short Pump, Virginia, when she was 13.[4][7] Her father had moved from policing to federal law enforcement for the United States Postal Inspection Service. She graduated from John Randolph Tucker High School and was later a page for U.S. Senator Chuck Robb.[7]
Spanberger earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 2001[4] and a Master of Business Administration from a joint program between the GISMA Business School in Germany and Purdue University's Krannert School of Management.[7] According to The Washington Post, by the time she had completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia, Spanberger was conversationally fluent in English, Spanish, and "five or six more" languages.[4]
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Career
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In the early 2000s, Spanberger taught English literature as a substitute teacher at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia.[8] She received a conditional job offer from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in December 2002.[4] While waiting for a background check to be completed, Spanberger worked as a postal inspector, as her father did, focusing on money laundering and narcotics cases.[4][9]
In July 2006, after Spanberger's background check had been completed, she joined the CIA as a case officer, working to find, recruit, and build relationships with foreign nationals who could have had information of value to the U.S. government.[4][10] She has publicly said that she gathered intelligence about nuclear proliferation and terrorism.[11] Her first assignment was to Brussels, according to The Washington Post.[4] During her career, she held, at some point, five different passports, and met people undercover.[4]
In 2014, Spanberger left the CIA and entered the private sector. She was hired by Royall & Company (now a part of EAB) to do consulting work for colleges and universities.[4][12] In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, she began working with Emerge America to encourage women to run for state and congressional offices.[4] In 2017, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed her to the Virginia Fair Housing Board.[13]
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U.S. House of Representatives
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Elections
2018
In July 2017, Spanberger announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Virginia's 7th congressional district in the 2018 election against incumbent Republican Dave Brat, a Tea Party movement member.[14][15][16] She had begun to consider challenging Brat after attending a town hall meeting he hosted in Nottoway County in February 2017 and made the final decision to run in May after the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, texting her husband, "I'm gonna run and I'm gonna f---ing win".[4][9] On June 12, 2018, Spanberger defeated Dan Ward in the Democratic primary election with 73% of the vote, receiving more votes than any other candidate in the Virginia primaries that day.[17][18]
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In August, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Republican speaker of the House Paul Ryan, conducted a smear campaign against Spanberger. The campaign, which attempted to tie her to terrorism, was based on an SF-86 application she completed to obtain security clearance, which was inappropriately released in breach of privacy rules.[19] She won the November 6 general election by just over 6,800 votes.[20] Brat won eight of the district's ten counties, but Spanberger dominated the two largest counties, Henrico and Chesterfield, by a combined margin of over 30,000 votes.[21] Her campaign outraised Brat's, raising $5.8 million (equivalent to $7,380,469 in 2024) to his $2.1 million (equivalent to $2,659,782 in 2024).[22]
In a visit to the district, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon called it "an absolute bellwether of the entire country", adding that losing the district would mean Republican loss of control of the House.[23]
Spanberger was the first Democrat to win this seat since 1970, when four-term Democrat John Marsh retired and was succeeded by Republican J. Kenneth Robinson.[24] But until 1993, the 7th stretched from the outer Washington suburbs through the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville to the outer Richmond suburbs;[25] the present 7th is geographically and demographically the successor to what was the 3rd district before 1993.[26] That district had been in Republican hands since 1981; former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor represented it from 2001 until Brat ousted him in the 2014 Republican primary.
Spanberger and her colleagues Elissa Slotkin and Mikie Sherrill were described as the "mod squad", a moderate alternative to the progressive "squad".[27][28] Spanberger and Sherrill shared a Capitol Hill apartment for four years while they served in Congress together.[4]
2020
Spanberger faced a close reelection contest against Virginia Delegate Nick Freitas, who represented much of the congressional district's northern portion. She won with 51% of the vote to Freitas's 49%. Freitas carried eight of the district's ten counties, as Brat had done two years earlier, but Spanberger prevailed by winning the district's shares of Henrico and Chesterfield counties by a combined 43,400 votes, five times her overall margin of 8,400 votes.[29][30] She was also boosted by Joe Biden narrowly carrying the district;[31] Biden was the first Democrat to win what is now the 7th Congressional District since 1948.
On November 5, days after winning reelection by a margin of 1.8%,[32] Spanberger criticized the Democratic Party's strategy for the 2020 elections in a phone call with other Democratic caucus members that was subsequently leaked.[33] Calling the elections "a failure" from a congressional standpoint, she singled out Republican attack ads decrying "socialism" and the movement to "defund the police" as prime reasons the Democratic Party lost seats in swing districts. Spanberger argued that Democrats should watch Republican ads before deciding how to talk about issues and never "use the word 'socialist' or 'socialism' ever again".[34]
CNN political editor Chris Cillizza described Spanberger's remarks as "some hard truth" for the Democratic Party, adding that in order to succeed in the 2022 and 2024 elections, the party should "listen to the likes of Spanberger" instead of pushing for "the boldest possible progressive legislation".[35] Spanberger's remarks were disputed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who noted that Democrats kept the House, and Representative Rashida Tlaib, who said the Democratic Party should "study the results" before dismissing progressives who represent their districts.[34] The Washington Post digital editor James Downie criticized Spanberger's view, saying that if a losing officeholder "couldn't manage to tie his or her Republican opponent to almost a quarter of a million COVID-19 deaths in the United States, a tanked economy or a dozen other policy fiascos, that's the candidate's fault."[36] Downie quoted Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had noted that no swing-district House Democrat who co-sponsored Medicare for All lost their seat and had said in response to Spanberger's comments, "not a single member of Congress that I'm aware of campaigned on socialism or defunding the police in this general election."[36][37]
2022
For her first two terms, Spanberger represented a district that stretched from the Richmond suburbs to the fringes of the Shenandoah Valley. After the 2020 United States redistricting cycle, Spanberger's district was radically redrawn, and no longer included her home in Henrico County. She considered not running for reelection in the new district before deciding to do so.[4] Spanberger was seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbents of the 2022 election cycle, with pre-election polls projecting a close race with Republican Prince William County supervisor Yesli Vega, a law enforcement officer endorsed by Governor Glenn Youngkin and former president Donald Trump.[38][39] Spanberger defeated Vega, 52% to 48%, the largest margin at the time in any election Spanberger had run in.[40][41]
Tenure
Trump administration
According to FiveThirtyEight's congressional vote tracker, Spanberger voted with President Trump 8.7% of the time.[42] In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won 50% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's 44% in Spanberger's future congressional district.[43]
On September 23, 2019, Spanberger joined six other freshman House Democrats with national security backgrounds in calling for an impeachment inquiry into Trump. They co-wrote a Washington Post opinion piece explaining their support for an impeachment inquiry, writing: "Congress must determine whether the president was indeed willing to use his power and withhold security assistance funds to persuade a foreign country to assist him in an upcoming election." They wrote that, if the allegations were true, they amounted to a "flagrant disregard for the law" and a "threat to all we have sworn to protect".[44] Spanberger later announced that she would vote in favor of impeachment, saying, "The President's actions violate his oath of office, endanger our national security, and betray the public trust".[45]
On June 1, 2020, Spanberger tweeted criticism of Trump's reaction to the George Floyd protests, a series of protests against police brutality that began in Minneapolis on May 26. On June 2, The Washington Post and The New York Times quoted Spanberger and several other high-profile former CIA analysts' interpretations of Trump's reaction to the protests as reminiscent of the reaction of totalitarian dictators on the brink of losing control of their dictatorships. "As a former CIA officer, I know this playbook, and I know the president's actions are betraying the very foundation of the rule of law he purports to support, the U.S. Constitution", she said.[46][47][48] Spanberger criticized Trump after police used tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protestors and a priest during the George Floyd protests to clear a path so that he could have a photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church.[49][46]
Spanberger opposed Democrats' attempts to amend the Insurrection Act of 1807, saying that amending the rarely used law would not accomplish what Democrats intended.[50]
Biden administration
According to PolitiFact, Spanberger publicly disagreed with some of Biden's immigration policies that have not been subject to congressional votes, but she voted for all 73 bills and resolutions in the House of Representatives that Biden voiced support for.[51] In a November 2021 interview with the New York Times, Spanberger criticized Biden after the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election, saying, "Nobody elected him to be F.D.R.; they elected him to be normal and stop the chaos."[52] She also said the Democrats had not sufficiently recognized that inflation was problematic.[53]
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
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2025 gubernatorial election
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Election
In 2020, during a meeting with then-Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam, Northam suggested she should run for governor someday.[4] Spanberger took his advice, and in November 2023 announced that she would not seek reelection to Congress and would instead run for governor of Virginia in the 2025 election.[61] She secured the uncontested nomination in April 2025.[62]
In May 2025, while campaigning, Spanberger said she would not sign a bill to fully repeal Virginia's right-to-work law if elected governor.[63][64]
Spanberger is the one of the few Virginia gubernatorial candidates to refuse money from Dominion Energy, instead getting donations from the anti-Dominion watchdog Clean Virginia alongside her running mates, who defeated Dominion-backed candidates.[65][66] Her priorities on immigration include scrapping Youngkin's immigration order allowing local police to help carry out Trump's ICE raids and deportation policy. She supports rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which Youngkin, a Republican, left after Northam had joined it.[67][68]
Spanberger was elected in a landslide, securing 57.34% of the vote.[69] The Republican nominee, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, received 42.46%. It was the largest victory for any Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Virginia since Albertis Harrison received just under 64% of the vote in 1961.[70] While Democrats won the three statewide races in Virginia in 2025, Spanberger's 15-point margin of victory was the largest.[71]
Transition
On November 5, Spanberger announced her transition team, which includes senior members of her campaign staff, as well as past government officials, including Chris Lu, Daun Hester, and Yohannes Abraham. Honorary co-chairs of the transition team included many Democratic Party of Virginia leaders, including State Senator and President pro tempore of the Virginia Senate Louise Lucas, State Delegate and Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Don Scott, Delegate Candi Mundon King, former Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, and former Congressman Rick Boucher.[72]
On November 6, Spanberger and her husband Adam met and had lunch with Governor Youngkin and his wife Suzanne to informally begin the transition process.[73]
Spanberger is set to be sworn in as governor on January 17, 2026.[73]
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Political positions
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Spanberger positions herself as a moderate Democrat[74] and has called herself a "passionate pragmatist".[75] Virginia's NPR affiliate WCVE-FM called Spanberger's legislative voting record "typical in this highly partisan era" and said she has always voted for Biden's agenda while still being the fifth-most bipartisan House member when it came to cosponsoring legislation and opposing one of Biden's executive orders on immigration.[76] In the 2019 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election on the opening day of the 116th United States Congress, she voted for Representative Cheri Bustos, an Illinois Democrat, joining 11 other Democrats who did not back Nancy Pelosi.[77]
Abortion
Spanberger supports abortion rights.[78] She does not support any legislation that would restrict abortion, saying that the government should not "mandate a pregnancy".[79] During her gubernatorial campaign, Spanberger said she would support a constitutional amendment to restore "the Roe standard" and that she supported Virginia's existing laws requiring minors seeking abortions to receive parental consent, and certain limitations on third-trimester abortions.[80]
COVID-19
On February 1, 2023, Spanberger was among 12 Democrats to vote for a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.[81][82]
On January 31, 2023, Spanberger was among seven Democrats to vote for H.R. 497, the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill that would lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.[83][84]
Criminal justice
In 2023, Spanberger voted against overturning the District of Columbia's revision of its criminal code, which reduced the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking, and robbery.[85][86]
Spanberger opposes defunding the police,[87] and has supported bills that would increase the ability of local police departments to hire and train more officers.[88]
Economy
Although she was not a member of Congress when it passed, Spanberger criticized the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act supported by President Donald Trump, arguing that its permanent tax cuts for corporations would increase the national debt.[78]
Spanberger called for the passage of the USMCA trade deal negotiated by the Trump administration, Mexico, and Canada.[89][90]
In May 2020, Spanberger voted against the HEROES Act, a proposed $3 trillion stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[50] She said the bill went "far beyond" pandemic relief and had no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate.[91] In November 2020, Spanberger led a bipartisan effort to secure the 340B Drug Pricing Program against changes that would lead to significant increases in prescription medication costs.[92]
Spanberger supports banning members of Congress from trading stocks. She has introduced legislation that would require lawmakers, as well as their spouses and dependent children, to place assets in a blind trust while in office.[93][94]
In September 2025, Spanberger wrote an opinion article in The Washington Post opposing DOGE for conducting mass layoffs of federal workers in 2025 which particularly affect Virginia, as many federal workers live there.[95]
Education
Through her "Strengthening Virginia Schools Plan", Spanberger announced she would make higher education more affordable and accessible and make it easier for high school students to take college-level courses.[96] She supports allowing teachers to deliver instruction and manage curriculum without interference from political bodies or agendas.[97] Spanberger has emphasized strengthening public schools by hiring and fairly compensating teachers, rather than providing wealthy residents with taxpayer money to spend on their private school tuition.[97] She also supports teaching Virginia's entire factual history.[97]
Environment
Spanberger has called climate change "one of the greatest and most imminent threats to our economy, our national security, and our way of life" and said she will "stand up to attacks against science."[78] During a 2019 Committee on Foreign Affairs meeting, Spanberger asked the Trump administration to reverse its isolationist policies, saying, "it's in [the US's] national interest to reinforce our stature as a global leader on international environmental and energy issues."[98]
Spanberger called the Green New Deal proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a "bold compilation of ideas meant to address global climate change" but criticized it for allegedly including unrelated policy proposals and not identifying specific resolutions to the problems that it identifies. "Overall I am not a supporter of the Green New Deal", she said.[99]
Foreign affairs
In February 2023, during the Russo–Ukrainian War, Spanberger signed a letter advocating that President Biden give Ukraine F-16 fighter jets.[100]
In June 2025, Spanberger supported the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.[101]
Gun control
Spanberger has called for a new version of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004. She favors requiring background checks on private gun sales and supported a ban on bump stocks.[78] Before she served in Congress, Spanberger volunteered with Moms Demand Action, a gun-control advocacy group.[4]
Health care
Spanberger supports the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).[78] She supports a public option for healthcare via the proposed Medicare-X Choice Act.[50] In November 2020, she called reducing the cost of prescription drugs "the top priority of families in my district".[92]
In January 2020, Spanberger sponsored the Public Disclosure of Drug Discounts Act, which passed the House unanimously. The bill requires pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who manage prescription drug benefits for health insurance companies, to publicize the rebates, discounts, and price concessions they negotiate, via a website hosted by the U.S. secretary of health and human services. Spanberger also co-sponsored the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which grants Medicare Part D the power to negotiate prescription prices directly with drug companies.[102]
Immigration
Spanberger objected to President Trump's travel bans from certain predominantly Muslim countries and argued that they would aid jihadist propaganda by allowing a portrayal of the U.S. as an anti-Muslim country. She has voiced her support for stronger border security measures but opposes Trump's proposed wall.[78] Spanberger voted for a bill that included funding for border infrastructure, technology at ports of entry, and more customs and border protection officers and agents. She said she does not support "sanctuary cities" but also called the term "a campaign slogan a lot of people get caught up in". She added that it "degrades the value of the conversation if we're not actually talking about what the real concern is."[99] Spanberger called for a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants who abide by the laws, work, and pay taxes.[78]
Spanberger voted to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be notified when undocumented immigrants attempt to purchase firearms, and voted against the House budget in summer 2019 because it failed to acknowledge the growing national debt.[50]
LGBT rights
Spanberger supports same-sex marriage, saying in 2025, "All Virginians deserve the freedom to marry and for their families to be welcomed in our Commonwealth without the shadow of an outdated and unconstitutional ban on marriage equality lingering in Virginia's Constitution".[103]
In 2019, she voted in favor of the Equality Act, which has not yet become law.[104][105]
In 2022, she voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act.[106]
In 2025, she was endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.[107]
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Personal life
Spanberger married Adam Spanberger in April 2006. Adam is a University of Virginia-trained engineer, and her high school sweetheart. They have three daughters together.[4] In 2014, the family moved to Henrico County. They live in Glen Allen, Virginia.[108][109] She is a Protestant.[110]
During her time in Congress, Spanberger roomed with Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, who was elected governor of New Jersey during the same 2025 election cycle as Spanberger.[4]
Spanberger helped run a Girl Scouts troop for her daughters when they were young.[4]
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Electoral history
2018
2020
2022
2025
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See also
References
External links
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