Abigail Spanberger

Abigail Anne Spanberger ( SPAN-bur-gər; née Davis; born August 7, 1979) is an American politician and former intelligence officer serving since 2026 as the 75th governor of Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, she served from 2019 to 2025 as the U . representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district. Spanberger was born in New Jersey and moved frequently during her childhood before her family settled in Virginia. She earned degrees from the University of Virginia and Purdue University. From 2006 to 2014, she was an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency. She was elected to the U . House of Representatives in 2018, unseating incumbent Republican Dave Brat. She was reelected in 2020 and 2022 before leaving Congress to run for governor. Spanberger was elected governor of Virginia in 2025, defeating Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears. She is Virginia's first female governor.

Infobox

Lieutenant

Ghazala Hashmi

Preceded by

Dave Brat

Succeeded by

Eugene Vindman

Born

Abigail Anne Davis (1979-08-07) August 7, 1979 Red Bank, New Jersey, U .

Party

Democratic

Spouse

Adam Spanberger (m. 2006)

Children

Education

University of Virginia (BA) Purdue University (MBA)

Website

Official website

Allegiance

United States

Service branch

Central Intelligence Agency

Service years

2006–2014

Rank

Operations officer

Tables

2018 Virginia's 7th congressional district election · Electoral history › 2018

Party

Primary election

Party

Primary election

Candidate

Primary election

Votes

Primary election

Total votes

Primary election

Total votes

Primary election

45,693

Primary election

100

General election

Primary election

General election

Total votes

Primary election

Total votes

Primary election

349,803

Primary election

100

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abigail Spanberger	33,210	72
	Democratic	Daniel Ward	12,483	27
Total votes			45,693	100
General election
	Democratic	Abigail Spanberger	176,079	50
	Republican	Dave Brat (incumbent)	169,295	48
	Libertarian	Joe Walton	4,216	1
	Write-in		213	0
Total votes			349,803	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

2020 Virginia's 7th congressional district election · Electoral history › 2020

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

454,339

Candidate

100

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abigail Spanberger (incumbent)	230,893	50
	Republican	Nick Freitas	222,623	49
	Write-in		823	0
Total votes			454,339	100
	Democratic hold

2022 Virginia's 7th congressional district election · Electoral history › 2022

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

274,590

Candidate

100

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abigail Spanberger (incumbent)	143,357	52
	Republican	Yesli Vega	130,586	47
	Write-in		647	0
Total votes			274,590	100
	Democratic hold

2025 Virginia gubernatorial election · Electoral history › 2025

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

3,433,340

Candidate

100

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abigail Spanberger	1,976,857	57
	Republican	Winsome Earle-Sears	1,449,586	42
	Write-in		6,897	0
Total votes			3,433,340	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

· External links

Party political offices

U . House of Representatives

Party political offices

Preceded byTerry McAuliffe

U . House of Representatives

Preceded byTerry McAuliffe

U . House of Representatives

Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia 2025

U . House of Representatives

Most recent

Preceded byElissa Slotkin

U . House of Representatives

Preceded byElissa Slotkin

U . House of Representatives

Response to the State of the Union address 2026

Political offices

U . House of Representatives

Political offices

Preceded byGlenn Youngkin

U . House of Representatives

Preceded byGlenn Youngkin

U . House of Representatives

Governor of Virginia 2026–present

U . House of Representatives

Incumbent

U . order of precedence (ceremonial)

U . House of Representatives

U . order of precedence (ceremonial)

Preceded byJD Vanceas Vice President

U . House of Representatives

Preceded byJD Vanceas Vice President

U . House of Representatives

Order of precedence of the United States Within Virginia

U . House of Representatives

Succeeded byMayor of city in which event is held

Succeeded byOtherwise Mike Johnsonas Speaker of the House

U . House of Representatives

Succeeded byOtherwise Mike Johnsonas Speaker of the House

Preceded byKelly Ayotteas Governor of New Hampshire

U . House of Representatives

Preceded byKelly Ayotteas Governor of New Hampshire

U . House of Representatives

Order of precedence of the United States Outside Virginia

U . House of Representatives

Succeeded byKathy Hochulas Governor of New York

U . House of Representatives
Preceded byDave Brat	Member of the U . House of Representatives from Virginia's 7th congressional district 2019–2025	Succeeded byEugene Vindman
Party political offices
Preceded byTerry McAuliffe	Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia 2025	Most recent
Preceded byElissa Slotkin	Response to the State of the Union address 2026
Political offices
Preceded byGlenn Youngkin	Governor of Virginia 2026–present	Incumbent
U . order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byJD Vanceas Vice President	Order of precedence of the United States Within Virginia	Succeeded byMayor of city in which event is held
		Succeeded byOtherwise Mike Johnsonas Speaker of the House
Preceded byKelly Ayotteas Governor of New Hampshire	Order of precedence of the United States Outside Virginia	Succeeded byKathy Hochulas Governor of New York