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Throughout two and a half centuries, Virginia has had 74 governors, each one of them male. This week, Abigail Spanberger broke this longstanding tradition by winning the election as the initial woman to hold the office in the commonwealth's history.

Emphasizing Cost-of-Living Issues and Strategic Opposition

The former US representative and Central Intelligence Agency operative won with a campaign that highlighted cost-of-living issues and carefully challenged Trump-era measures instead of the president himself.

Beginnings and Education

Born in the Garden State on 7 August 1979, she relocated to a Virginia community at her early teens. Her dad was an army veteran who later pursued a career in police work; her mother was a healthcare professional and community helper.

She enrolled in the Virginia's flagship university, earning a degree in French studies. Post-graduation, she had a short stint as a educator before turning to a life of service.

“I grew up understanding that I wanted to emulate my father and I did,” she informed supporters at a gathering in Norfolk, Virginia recently.

Government Roles

At the US Postal Inspection Service, she investigated involving drugs, exploiters and money launderers. She served legal orders, frequently being the only woman on the arrest team. She then joined the Central Intelligence Agency and specialized in national security, working covertly and abroad.

Personal Crossroads

In that year, she and her husband Adam, an technical professional, reached a career crossroads. Residing on the west coast, they were considering another overseas assignment. They took out a globe and inquired of their eldest daughter, then in kindergarten, where they should go. Virginia, she replied, because “family and friends reside in Virginia”.

Spanberger recalled at her rally: “And so we chose to transition from a path of service to country, to local engagement because she was right. All our relatives are in Virginia.”

Congressional Run

Back in the commonwealth, she joined a grassroots group, which addresses gun violence, and started a youth group. In 2017, she decided to seek office, which advisers told her was a “impossible task” because no Democrat had secured the congressional seat in half a century.

“But I saw what the president was doing with his authority and how he was dividing communities. And I noticed my member of Congress repeatedly work against the Affordable Care Act. And I realized I had to do something. So spoiler: I was victorious.”

Centrist Approach

In the capital, she quickly became associated with the moderate Democrats, a collection of moderate and budget-conscious Democrats. She prioritized lower-profile issues: bringing internet access to rural areas, combating drug trafficking and veterans’ services.

She built a reputation for working with Republicans and was consistently rated as the most cooperative representative of the Virginia delegation. She was vocal about messaging that she believed turned off independents, warning her fellow Democrats against ideological slogans that could be weaponised in tight races.

Political Alliance

Along with Representatives a former CIA analyst and Mikie Sherrill, she was labeled a member of the “mod squad” in opposition to the left-leaning “squad” of the New York representative.

Gubernatorial Campaign

In November 2023, she announced she would leave Congress for a another term and would instead campaign for Virginia's leadership in 2025.

Her campaign focused on ideas of public service, advocacy for schools and public works and protection of democratic institutions. Her CIA background gave her credibility on national security issues and she spoke of public service as a vocation instead of a job.

Election Victory

This enabled her to overcome Republican opponent Winsome Earle-Sears’s criticisms on social topics, notably the claim that she is an radical on individual freedoms and transgender healthcare.

The governor-elect, who stated that communities should decide whether trans youth can join school athletics, portrayed her rival as the contender more out of step with the middle of the Virginia electorate.