Abigail Spanberger

**Abigail Anne Davis Spanberger** (born August 7, 1979) is an American politician and former intelligence officer serving as the 75th governor of Virginia since 2026. A member of the Democratic Party, she is Virginia's first female governor. Before becoming governor, Spanberger was the U.S. representative for  from 2019 to 2025.

She was elected governor in the 2025 election. Spanberger beat then-incumbent lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears, becoming Virginia's first female governor in the state's history.

## Early life

Spanberger was born Abigail Anne Davis in Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 7, 1979, where her father was a police officer and her mother was a nurse. She was raised in Henrico County, Virginia, near Richmond.

Spanberger graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University.

## Early career

In 2002 and 2003, Spanberger taught English literature as a substitute teacher at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia. In the early 2000s, she was a postal inspector, working on money laundering and drug cases.

In 2006, Spanberger joined the Central Intelligence Agency as an operations officer. She helped fight against nuclear proliferation and terrorism. In 2014, Spanberger left the CIA. In 2017, Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe hired her to work for the Virginia Fair Housing Board.

## U.S. House of Representatives (2019–2025)

In July 2017, Spanberger announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in  in the 2018 election against Republican U.S. Representative Dave Brat. She made the final decision to run after the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In June 2018, Spanberger won the Democratic nomination with 73% of the vote. Her campaign raised more money Brat's. She won the November 6 general election by just over 6,800 votes. She became the first woman to represent the district in the district's history.

When Donald Trump was president, Spanberger voted with him 6.9% of the time. She supported the first impeachment efforts against Trump. She also did not like how Trump responded to the George Floyd protests.

In 2020, she was re-elected with a 1.8% vote margin. However, she criticized the Democratic Party's strategy for the 2020 election. She also did not like how the party was becoming more progressive and supporting progressive ideas. In 2022, she was re-elected with 52% of the vote.

In a November 2021, Spanberger criticized President Joe Biden after the 2021 gubernatorial election when Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected governor, saying, "Nobody elected him to be F.D.R., they elected him to be normal and stop the chaos." She also said the Democrats were not focusing on inflation as a real problem.

In November 2023, Spanberger announced that she would not run for re-election in 2024, instead focusing on running for governor in 2025. Former U.S. Army officer and Democrat Eugene Vindman was elected in 2024 to replace her.

## 2025 gubernatorial election

On November 13, 2023, Spanberger announced that she would run for Governor of Virginia in 2025. No one ran against her for the Democratic nomination since Richmond mayor Levar Stoney dropped out to run for lieutenant governor instead. She became the official nominee in April 2025. Spanberger faced Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears in the general election.

Spanberger won the general election on November 4, 2025, beating Earle-Sears by a 57% to 42% vote margin. She will become the state's first female governor.

## Governor of Virginia

Spanberger was sworn in as governor on January 17, 2026. She was sworn in by former Supreme Court of Virginia Justice William C. Mims, with her husband Adam holding the Bible and her daughters by her side.

## Personal life

Spanberger is married to Adam Spanberger. They have three daughters. In 2014, the family moved back to Henrico County. They live in Glen Allen, Virginia. She is a Protestant.

## Other websites

- Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger  official U.S. House website
- Official campaign website

## Infobox (spy)

- **child**: yes
- **allegiance**: United States
- **branch**: Central Intelligence Agency
- **serviceyears**: 2006–2014
- **rank**: Directorate of Operations (CIA), Operations officer


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Abigail Spanberger
- **image**: File:Rep. Abigail Spanberger - 118th Congress.jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2023
- **order**: 75th
- **lieutenant**: Ghazala Hashmi
- **term start**: January 17, 2026
- **predecessor**: Glenn Youngkin
- **state1**: Virginia
- **term start1**: January 3, 2019
- **term end1**: January 3, 2025
- **predecessor1**: Dave Brat
- **successor1**: Eugene Vindman
- **birth name**: Abigail Anne Davis
- **birth place**: Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **spouse**: Adam Spanberger (m. 2006)
- **children**: 3
- **signature**: Abigail Spanberger signature.svg
- **signature alt**: Cursive signature
- **office**: Governor of Virginia