Abigail Spanberger to be Virginia's Next Governor: New Path for Democrats
By: Alvin H. Green IV
Abigail Spanberger was elected the First Female Governor of Virginia during the 2025 Gubernatorial election, scoring Democrat victories alongside Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
As the dust settles around the elections, it is clear that the Democratic Party has two directions it can go with its newfound power, media attention, and House seats: progressive or moderate.
Although more centrist or ‘establishment’ Democrats like Spanberger and Sherrill won their respective Gubernatorial elections, there has been clear and widespread support across the country for Mamdani’s Democratic Socialist policies, such as free bus service and universal childcare, and the more radical, Democrat-favored redistricting efforts in California and Virginia.
This then raises the question: did the country vote blue because people want more radical, leftist change, or because they are simply sick of Trump and his overtly destructive policies? Should the democrats stay center-left, or more closer to the edge?
Two students who voted for Spanberger in the election had differing opinions on the matter.
“The Dems absolutely need to go further left. The people aren’t just tired of Trump…they’re tired of Dems doing nothing about Trump...,”” said Asase Ye Shabazz, a first-year English major from Southern Virginia.
Another student, however, believes that the key to Democratic success is flying under the radar and appeasing both sides of the political scope.
“I think the Democrats should stay more moderate, at least for now,” said first-year biology major Sydney Hart from Northern Virginia. Hart went on to say she believes the future or the party is more left-leaning, but that most people “...just [aren’t] ready for that yet.”
Spanberger, Sherrill, and Mamdani’s campaigns collectively focused on abortion rights, affordability, and opposing the Trump Administration’s more oppressive policies regarding ICE and tariffs. Spanberger specifically said in an NPR interview that she would be working on “lowering costs [in] housing, health care and energy…” and that ICE “doesn't make our communities safer.”
Some say that the Democrat’s lack of unity and a clear message, as well as a near absent opposition to the Trump Administration, has been a longstanding issue. Many political experts theorize that these factors are what lost Democrats past elections.
