Who’s running for Virginia governor in 2025? What to know about the job

The 2025 Virginia governor’s race is between former US Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, and current Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican.

We have officially entered election season in Virginia, and as one of just two states with a gubernatorial race this year, all eyes are on the Old Dominion State.

For those new to the political realm, gubernatorial refers to the governor, and this year’s race is an intriguing one. But before we get to that, let’s take a look at what the governor really does from their home in the Executive Mansion. 

As head of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s government, the governor is commander-in-chief of the Virginia National Guard and Virginia Defense Force (the all-volunteer reserve of the Virginia National Guard) as well as director of emergency management, among other roles. 

Governors can issue executive orders, but perhaps their most important legislative task is in approving or vetoing bills that are brought to their desk. 

With current Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin at the end of his term limit, this year’s race is between former US Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, and current Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican.

RELATED: Virginia is on track to lose 32,000 jobs in Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s final year on the job

“The Commonwealth is heralded as a national bellwether, like clockwork every four years,” writes USA Today’s Savannah Kuchar, pointing out that, as one of the only gubernatorial races to take place the year after a presidential election, it acts as a scorecard for voter sentiments. 

Regardless of who wins, Virginia will have its first woman governor come 2026. However, the two women battling over the seat occupy two different worlds, politically.

Meet Abigail Spanberger

Abigail Spanberger is a former federal law enforcement officer who worked in the US Postal Inspection Service and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before serving as the representative for Virginia’s 7th congressional district from 2019 to 2025. 

As an operations officer with the CIA, she claims to have gathered intelligence about nuclear proliferation and terrorism before leaving the agency in 2014 to join the private sector. She worked as an education consultant and in 2017 was appointed to the Virginia Fair Housing Board by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe. 

On her website, Spanberger says she was inspired to run for office in 2018 after seeing her representative vote to repeal Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of Virginians. She went on to get legislation passed that would prevent fentanyl overdoses, protect Virginia’s natural resources, and support Virginia’s veterans. 

Billing herself as a ‘salesperson’ for Virginia’s economy, Spanberger has also promised to focus on ensuring that Virginia has the best public schools in the country. 

Other pillars of her platform include plans to protect reproductive rights, lower the costs of energy and prescription drugs, build homes to address the housing crisis, and increase the minimum wage.

Meet Winsome Earle-Sears

Before being elected lieutenant governor, Jamaican immigrant Winsome Earle-Sears served in the US Marine Corps, then as the vice president of the Virginia State Board of Education, and as a presidential appointee to the US Census Bureau. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering she currently serves as Youngkin’s No. 2, Earle-Sears has been attacked for pushing policies that are detrimental to public schools. But wait, there’s more! 

Earle-Sears has mastered the art of minimization during her campaign, remaining silent or downplaying the federal workforce cuts that have disproportionately impacted Virginia while refusing to expand on or acknowledge her past comments on abortion, which she compared to slavery and genocide. 

She failed to secure an endorsement from the Virginia Police Benevolent Association after showing up late to a meeting with the group’s leaders and failing to answer any of their questions. 

Early in-person voting for attorney general and other statewide races begins on Sept.19.

Related: Spanberger vs. Earle-Sears: How Virginia’s governor hopefuls compare on abortion, climate, and schools