Abigail Spanberger (born 7 August 1979) was a member of the US House of Representatives (D-VA 7) from 3 January 2019 to 3 January 2025 (succeeding Dave Brat and preceding Eugene Vindman) and Governor of Virginia from 17 January 2026 (succeeding Glenn Youngkin).
Biography[]
Abigail Spanberger was born in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1979 and grew up in Short Pump, Henrico County, Virginia. She served as a page for US Senator Chuck Robb and graduated from the University of Virginia, and she studied in Germany before becoming a federal law enforcement officer working with the Postal Inspection Service. She later became a CIA operations officer, and she traveled and lived abroad collecting intelligence, and she began working for EAB - Royall & Company in 2014. In 2018, she ran for the US House of Representatives as the Democratic candidate for Virginia's 7th congressional district, supporting affordable healthcare, gun control, protecting social security and Medicare, strengthening public education, immigrant rights, the decriminalization of marijuana, overturning Citizens United, energy independence, universal broadband access, veterans' issues, and assisting drug addicts. She defeated Republican incumbent Dave Brat with 50.1% of the vote, and she became a member of the New Democrats. She was elected Governor of Virginia in a landslide in 2025, having received the endorsement of the Police Benevolent Association and former Republican members of Congress in addition to her own party.