(Washington) Abigail Spanberger was elected governor of Virginia on Tuesday, according to projections by several American media, tilting this state on the east coast of the United States into the Democratic camp, in an election expected as a barometer of the first months of Donald Trump’s second term. Democrat Mikie Sherrill was also elected governor of New Jersey, according to several media outlets.
A 46-year-old former CIA agent, Abigail Spanberger was widely favored in the polls to become the first female governor of Virginia, led by Republican Glenn Youngkin for the last four years, but never won by Donald Trump in a presidential election.
According to projections from NBC News, CNN, and CBS News, the first results give the Democrat a large lead against Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, after a campaign where the tenant of the White House occupied the minds.
“Virginia is suffering because of Trump’s policies that Sears supports,” read one of the latest ads launched by Abigail Spanberger’s campaign in recent days.
PHOTO MIKE SEGAR, REUTERS
Mikie Sherrill
New Jersey had already been led for eight years by a Democrat, Governor Phil Murphy, and had never been won by Donald Trump in a presidential election. But the Republican billionaire had considerably reduced the gap in 2024, particularly among Hispanic voters.
The dismissal of hundreds of thousands of federal civil servants decided by Donald Trump and his ex-ally Elon Musk particularly affected this state which borders Washington and its ministries.
The new governor, classified among the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, was faced with a Republican candidate who had focused her message on “culture war” issues, particularly against the rights of transgender people. Subjects already raised during the victorious campaigns led by Glenn Youngkin in 2021 and by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
The results of the New Jersey gubernatorial election are still awaited Tuesday, as are those of the New York municipal election, as well as for a crucial referendum in California.
While Donald Trump will celebrate the first anniversary of his presidential victory on Wednesday, this first result of election night indicates a setback inflicted on the Republican billionaire at the start of his second term marked by his desire to push the limits of executive power.
