Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is running against former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in the race, and in either case, the winner will make history in the commonwealth as its first female governor. If Earle-Sears wins, she’ll become the first female Black governor.
AP 
There’s no incumbent in this race — there never is, since Virginia governors may not run for consecutive terms under state law.
Virginia’s gubernatorial election is often seen as a potential referendum on the incumbent president. The president’s party often loses the Virginia governor’s race, which always falls in the year following a presidential election.
Spanberger has made it clear she’s running against Mr. Trump’s policies during the campaign, saying, “It is because of the trade wars and the retaliatory tariff policies and the attack on Virginia, our economy and our people, that we recognize the possibility of November 4.”
The Trump administration’s broadsides against the federal workforce hit Virginia hard, since the state has hundreds of thousands of civilian federal employees and contractors. Besides the reduction-in-force cuts by the administration, federal workers are taking an economic hit in the government shutdown that’s now stretching into its second month.
Earle-Sears has focused on immigration and transgender issues, and in their October debate, she pressed Spanberger on whether she’d keep transgender youth out of girls’ high school sports and bathrooms.
During the campaign, Earle-Sears has campaigned alongside Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, but she was not endorsed by President Trump. Mr. Trump appeared in a telerally on Monday night for the Republican ticket, attacking Spanberger and encouraging people to vote for Republicans, but he didn’t mention Earle-Sears by name.
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