Democratic former Rep. Abigail Spanberger won Tuesday’s gubernatorial election in Virginia, ending four years of Republican control of the governor’s mansion.

Spanberger was leading GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears 55 percent to 45 percent , when The Associated Press called the race roughly an hour after polls closed . She will be Virginia’s first female governor.

“Tonight we sent a message,” Spanberger said in her victory speech in Richmond, flanked by her husband and three daughters. “We chose our commonwealth over chaos. You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most: lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian.”

Spanberger will succeed term-limited Republican incumbent Glenn Youngkin, who in 2021 ca

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