Abigail Spanberger becomes Virginia's 1st female governor in historic inauguration

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger is set to take Virginia's top office on Saturday, becoming the first female governor to lead the state, with Democrats regaining control of the seat.

She will be sworn in during a midday inauguration ceremony filled with pageantry and grandeur in front of the state Capitol in Richmond. A traditional inaugural parade will kick off after the ceremony.

Spanberger, a former CIA case officer and member of Congress, defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in November. Her inauguration as the state's 75th governor is a historic first: only men have held the post since Virginia first became a commonwealth in 1776. And no woman served as a colonial governor before then.

“For the next generation of kids, it’ll be normal to see a woman in this role, whether it’s doing the joyful things of ribbon cuttings or the hard things of contending with whatever challenges we might be facing into the future,” Spanberger has said.

She will be referred to with traditional formality: “Madam Governor" or, as some officials phrase it, “her excellency.”

The state’s lieutenant governor Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi is also entering office at a historic moment as the first Muslim woman to serve in statewide office in the U.S. And Democrat Jay Jones will become Virginia’s first Black attorney general, and will be sworn into his post in the former capital of the Confederacy.

The ceremony Saturday will mark the end of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin ’s tenure, and he will hand Spanberger his key to the executive mansion.

Spanberger's inauguration marks a new chapter in the state, with Democrats pulling the levers of power in state government while Republicans run neighboring Washington. The state Democrats picked up 13 seats in the House of Delegates a year after the party's stunning losses nationwide in the 2024 presidential election.

The governor-elect ran on a vow to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of President Donald Trump’s administration. On the trail, she spoke of the White House's gutting the civil service, rising costs of goods and changes impacting the state’s already fragile health care system.

Democrats in the statehouse have vowed to work with Spanberger to push through their bullish agenda, which includes redrawing the state's Congressional district map ahead of the midterm elections this year.