WASHINGTON POST: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) announced Monday that she is running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia in 2025.
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and swing-district Democrat who has clashed at times with her party’s leadership and left flank, announced Monday that she will not seek a fourth term next year and will instead run for Virginia governor in 2025. With the release of a campaign video Monday morning, Spanberger, 44, became the first candidate from either party to formally jump into the contest. She is running to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who is barred by the state constitution from serving back-to-back terms.
“The greatest honor of my life has been to represent Virginians in the U.S. House. Today, I am proud to announce that I will be working hard to gain the support and trust of all Virginians to continue this service as the next Governor of Virginia,” Spanberger said in a written statement released by her campaign. “Virginia is where I grew up, where I am raising my own family, and where I intend to build a stronger future for the next generation of Virginians.”
Spanberger’s early-bird entry — nearly two years ahead of Election Day 2025 — gives Democrats more time to recruit candidates to run in the 7th District, a competitive territory that stretches from the Washington exurbs of Prince William County nearly to Ashland in the outer reaches of Greater Richmond. Youngkin, by comparison, got into the 2021 race in January of that year and Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor seeking a comeback, did so in December 2020. Spanberger’s announcement is widely expected to prod candidates from both parties to hasten their own entries and begin chasing cash for a contest that last time cost Youngkin and McAuliffe a combined $137 million, a record-smashing amount for Virginia.
