by Kate Seltzer at Daily Press
Tuesday was a good night for Democrats. Abigail Spanberger, a former U.S. representative and federal law enforcement officer, will be Virginia’s first woman governor. State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi will be the first Asian American and Muslim in statewide office. And former Del. Jay Jones will be the first Black attorney general.
It was a decisive victory. The Associated Press called the gubernatorial race just an hour after polls closed Tuesday night. Preliminary results show that more than 3.3 million people voted. Spanberger won with 57.8% of the vote to Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ 42.4%. In 2021, it was a far narrower margin: Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin won with 50.6% of the vote.
“This was never about just winning an election, it’s about what comes next,” Spanberger said. “We are going to work to lower cost of renting, buying or staying in your home. We are going to cut red tape and build homes families can actually afford. We’re going to lower health care costs. We’re going to crack down on predatory pharmaceutical practices and surprise billing.”
Spanberger spent much of the campaign focusing on economic issues and appealing to centrists and independents as a moderate capable of working across the aisle. Recent polling found that affordability issues like rising costs of rent ranked high among likely Virginia voters.
At the Richmond Convention Center Tuesday night,…
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