AP Photo, File (U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, left, and Republican Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, right)
Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) has defeated Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to be the state’s next governor, Decision Desk HQ projected soon after polls closed Tuesday.
It was an unsurprising result. Spanberger consistently trounced Earle-Sears on the campaign trail, leading her in the polls by double digits for months and far outpacing her in fundraising and cash-on-hand throughout the race. The former congresswoman benefited from a moderate voting record and picked up endorsements that went to current officeholder, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the last time around.
Youngkin is term-limited, leaving an open seat that was surprisingly barely contested on the GOP side. Earle-Sears initially had two primary challengers, but neither of them managed to collect the required petition signatures, allowing her to advance to the general election unopposed.
Virginia Republicans are likely to come to regret that. Earle-Sears’ hopes have been viewed as so dire, several prominent party members even attacked her “clown car” campaign on the record with reporters back in August amid worries her problems would drag down the rest of the Republican ticket.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares even promoted split-ticket voting on his social media accounts Tuesday morning, posting a video with a voter who said he voted for Spanberger and Miyares.
President Donald Trump headlined a tele-rally call for the Virginia Republicans last week, but notably did not endorse Earle-Sears.
Decision Desk HQ posted their projection at 7:19 pm ET, not long after Virginia polls closed at 7 pm.
Votes are still being tallied, but as of 7:45 pm ET, with about 23% reporting, Spanberger had 57.2% of the vote to Earle-Sears’ 42.8%.
DDHQ’s projected vote share also expects to see Spanberger end up with a sizable lead, 54.3% to Earle-Sears at 45.7%.
NewsNation and CNN have also projected Spanberger as the winner.
This is a breaking news story and has been updated with additional content.
