RICHMOND — Tuesday was a good night for Democrats. Abigail Spanberger, a former U.S. representative and federal law enforcement officer, will be Virginia’s first woman governor. State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi will be the first Asian American and Muslim in statewide office. And former Del. Jay Jones will be the first Black attorney general.

It was a decisive victory. The Associated Press called the gubernatorial race just an hour after polls closed Tuesday night. Preliminary results show that more than 3.3 million people voted. Spanberger won with 57.8% of the vote to Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ 42.4%. In 2021, it was a far narrower margin: Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin won with 50.6% of the vote.

“This was never about just winning an election, it’s about what comes next,” Span

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