Abigail Spanberger tells Democrats she will run for governor
Rep. Abigail Spanberger , a centrist Democrat from Virginia who sits in a must-win seat for her party in 2024, has told multiple people she will run for governor in 2025.
Spanberger, a powerhouse fundraiser who recently earned a spot at House Democrats’ leadership table, has been laying the groundwork for a statewide run for months — even years. But she has begun to make her intentions clearer more recently.
Spanberger and one of her top political aides told four Democrats that she is preparing to launch a bid for the governor’s mansion that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will vacate in 2025, according to four people familiar with those conversations. Her team has also begun to discuss plans for a statewide run with her colleagues on Capitol Hill, according to two Democratic lawmakers. All were granted anonymity to speak candidly about plans that are not yet public.
Any announcement from Spanberger would likely not come until after Virginia’s highly competitive state legislative elections this November. But her ambitions — and that possible timeline — threaten
