Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger claimed a runaway victory in Virginia's gubernatorial elections on Tuesday night. She will be the 75th Governor of Virginia, and the first female governor in the history of the Commonwealth.
A Blue wave crashed over the Commonwealth on Tuesday night as former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger swept to victory in Virginia’s gubernatorial elections. Her two statewide ticket-mates, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi and former Delegate Jay Jones, also saw the votes fall their way in the Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General's races, respectively.
Behind the top of the ticket, Virginia House Democrats flipped thirteen Republican seats in the House of Delegates to rise to a majority of 64 seats out of 100. House Republican losses were widespread rather than localized, affecting almost all regions of the state except the Southwest. This result beats even the most optimistic Democratic polling and expectations leading up to Election Day, and sets up the coming General Assembly Session in January to be a fast track for many Democratic priorities that had previously been blocked by outgoing-Governor Glenn Youngkin’s veto pen.
Virginia House Democrats, led by Speaker Don Scott, will now have a firm grip on committee operations and Floor votes in the House of Delegates. This is a change from the most recent two years, when House Democrats held only the narrowest majority of 51-49. The Senate of Virginia remains in Democratic hands, having not been on the ballot this year, with a margin of 21-19. VRLTA has been and continues to engage with leadership in both the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates on our industry priorities going into the 2026 General Assembly Session.
We look forward to diving into more of what this means for our members and the Virginia hospitality industry at-large in the weeks ahead. And we would encourage you to consider joining us at the VRLTA's annual Day on the Hill in January for the opportunity to meet the incoming class of delegates, and educate them on the intricacies of our industry.
If you have any questions about this election or its implications for Virginia’s tourism and hospitality sectors, please don’t hesitate to reach out to VRLTA Director of Government Affairs, Tommy Herbert.
For a more in-depth look at the 2025 Virginia Election, you can check out the results on the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).