Virginia

Abigail Spanberger becomes Virginia’s 1st female governor in historic inauguration

Published

3 months ago

January 17, 2026

Abigail Spanberger becomes Virginia’s 1st female governor in historic inauguration

RICHMOND, Va. — Amid a cold drizzle, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday at the state Capitol as Virginia’s first female governor after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.

The inauguration of Spanberger, who defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, marks a new chapter in Virginia as Democrats pull the levers of power in state government while Republican President Trump sits in the White House in neighboring Washington.

“The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me,” Spanberger said in her address. “I maintain an abiding sense of gratitude to those who work, generation after generation, to ensure women could be among those casting ballots, but who could only dream of a day like today.”

Spanberger ran on a vow to protect Virginia’s economy amid uncertainty wrought by the aggressive tactics of the Trump administration. On the trail she spoke of the White House gutting the civil service, the rising costs of goods and changes affecting the state’s already fragile healthcare system.

In a thinly veiled dig at the president, Spanberger said it was time for Virginians to fix what was broken.

“I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington,” she said. “You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities, cutting healthcare access, imperiling rural hospitals and driving up costs.”

Two other Democrats also were sworn in. Ghazala F. Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to serve in statewide office in the U.S., is Virginia’s new lieutenant governor. Hashmi placed her hand on a Quran as she was sworn in. Jay Jones is Virginia’s first Black attorney general. He was sworn into his post, notably, in the former capital of the Confederacy.

After the ceremony Hashmi and Jones stood behind Spanberger as she signed her first 10 executive orders, including one rescinding a Youngkin directive from last year instructing state law enforcement and corrections officers to assist with federal immigration enforcement.

“Local law enforcement should not be required to divert their limited resources to enforce federal civil immigration laws,” she said.

Spanberger’s inauguration as the state’s 75th governor is a historic first: Only men have held the post since Virginia first became a commonwealth in 1776. And no woman served as a colonial governor prior to that, long before women even had the right to vote.

She will be referred to with traditional formality: “Madam Governor” or, as some officials phrase it, “Her Excellency.”

According to “A Guide to Virginia Protocol and Traditions,” males in the official party wear morning coats and women wear dark suits for the inauguration, and many, including the new governor’s husband, kept to that tradition Saturday.

But as the first woman to serve as governor, Spanberger wore all white, a possible tribute to the women’s suffrage movement. She wore a gold pin on her long, white coat that said: “One country. One destiny.”

Prominent Democrats attended the ceremony, such as New Jersey Gov.-Elect Mikie Sherrill and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. U.S. Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Adam Schiff of California were seated in the crowd.

On his 95th birthday, former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder also sat behind Spanberger and watched her inauguration.

“On these steps, Virginia inaugurated our 66th governor and our nation’s first elected African American governor,” Spanberger said in her speech. “Gov. L. Douglas Wilder changed what so many of our fellow citizens believed was even possible.”

Democrats in the statehouse have vowed to work with Spanberger to push through their agenda, which includes redrawing the state’s congressional district map ahead of the midterm elections.

The state Democrats picked up 13 seats in the House of Delegates a year after the party’s stunning losses nationwide in the 2024 presidential election.

Diaz writes for the Associated Press.

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Virginia

Virginia fires women’s basketball coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton after making 1st Sweet 16 since 2000ated hour-by-hour look at storm chances on Easter Sunday

Published

4 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

Virginia fires women’s basketball coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton after making 1st Sweet 16 since 2000ated hour-by-hour look at storm chances on Easter Sunday

Virginia has fired Amaka Agugua-Hamilton as head coach of the women’s basketball program. Agugua-Hamilton led the Cavaliers to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000. She went 70-58, including a 29-42 mark in ACC play. Virginia became the first double-digit seed to reach the regional semifinals since 2022 and pulled off the upset of the tournament, knocking off No. 2 seed Iowa on the road in double overtime in the second round. They became the first First Four team to advance this far before falling to TCU.

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Virginia

LIVE Updates: Virginia Tech Hokies vs Miami Hurricanes Baseball, Game Two Score

Published

16 hours ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

LIVE Updates: Virginia Tech Hokies vs Miami Hurricanes Baseball, Game Two Score

Top of the 6th

Bottom of the 5th

Miami adds a run via sac fly and leads 7-1 heading to the 6th

Top of the 5th

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for VT. Miami leads 6-1 heading to the bottom of the 5th

Bottom of the 4th

A pair of one out singles put two runners on and after VT got the second out, Miami got the lead on an RBI single. The Hurricanes were not done either, with a 2-RBI triple made it 4-1 and then a two-run home run made it a five run lead for the Hurricanes. Miami got a double after that, but VT got the final out. Hurricanes lead 6-1 heading to the 5th

Top of the 4th

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for VT. Game is tied 1-1 heading to the bottom of the 4th

Bottom of the 3rd

A one out triple led to a sac fly from Miami that tied the game 1-1. Hokies got the final out, but no longer have the lead going to the 4th

Top of the 3rd

Cooke gets a two out double, but nothing else for the Hokies. VT leads 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 3rd

Bottom of the 2nd

Miami gets a one out single, but no runs. VT leads 1-0 heading to the 3rd

Top of the 2nd

A one out double from Daniel led to an RBI double from Gates to make it 1-0 in favor of the Hokies. They could not add on to it and VT leads 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 2nd

Bottom of the 1st

A leadoff triple and and two out walk put two on for Miami, but Virginia Tech keeps them off the board. Game is tied 0-0 heading to the 2nd

Top of the 1st

A single and two walks loaded the bases, but VT produced zero runs. Game is tied 0-0 heading to the bottom of the 1st

Pregame

Brett Renfrow is on the mound for the Hokies and here is how Virginia Tech is lining up for today’s game:

1. LF Nick Locurto

2. Ethan Ball – 2B

3. Sam Grube – RF

4. Henry Cooke – C

5. DH Hudson Lutterman

6. 3B Willie Hurt

7. SS Pete Daniel

8. CF Sam Gates

9. 1B Ethan Gates

After an embarrassing first game, Virginia Tech is hoping to bounce back and get the victory tonight against the Hurricanes. Miami was able to put up 19 runs on Virginia Tech last night in what ended up being as lopsided of a baseball game that you will ever see.

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Virginia

In rural Virginia, excitement and dread grows over Democrats’ redistricting referendum

Published

1 day ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

In rural Virginia, excitement and dread grows over Democrats’ redistricting referendum

LOUISA, Va. — Michael Shull never imagined that a Democrat from the wealthy suburbs of Washington would represent his community in Congress. His corner of Virginia, with its sprawling farms and winding country roads, has been electing Republicans for more than three decades.

Then came an unusual nationwide redistricting battle, with Democrats and Republicans redrawing congressional lines to boost their chances in November’s midterm elections. Virginia could be next as voters consider a new map that would pair conservative rural areas with liberal suburbs, diluting Republicans’ electoral clout.

“Politicians should be elected to be their people’s voice,” said Shull, a Republican member of Augusta County’s board of supervisors. “Not their party’s voice.”

The vote on the constitutional amendment is on April 21, and early balloting has begun. If voters pass the referendum and it survives a court challenge, Shull’s area within the county would be split between the 7th and 9th Congressional Districts. While the 9th District would be the state’s lone Republican stronghold, the 7th District would resemble a lobster with the long tail beginning in Democrat-dominated Arlington and two claws reaching south into rural communities.

Congressional districts are usually redrawn once a decade, but President Donald Trump started a chain reaction last year by encouraging Texas Republicans to devise a new map to help the party in November. After a cascade of redistricting efforts, Republicans believe they can win a combined nine more U.S. House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, while Democrats think they can win a total of six more seats in California and Utah. Virginia could give Democrats an extra four seats — enough to overturn the GOP’s slim majority, at least as things stand now.

“It’s about making sure that we fight back to what Trump’s done,” said U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., He said the party needs to persuade voters that the referendum is “not about embracing gerrymandering.”

“I feel optimistic, but it’s close,” he said.

A print edition of the Goochland Gazette, with a front page story on the Virginia redistricting referendum, lies on a table at GG’s Pizza as members of the Goochland Democratic Committee Jen Strozier, Doug Mock, Chris Svoboda, Richard Grebe and Judi Sheppard hold a lunch meeting on future get-out-the-vote efforts, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Maiden, Va. Credit: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

A rural-urban divide

The referendum comes at a moment when Virginia Democrats have tried to make up ground in rural areas. Last year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger campaigned for governor in oyster towns and agrarian hamlets to engage with more conservative voters. Before that winning campaign, she had represented a congressional district that mixed city suburbs, exurbs and adjacent rural communities.

“Anyone who’s doing their job will be responsive to the communities that they seek to represent,” Spanberger said.

But her results were mixed. In counties where fewer people lived in rural areas, she outperformed Democrat Kamala Harris’ Virginia showing in the 2024 presidential race by an average of 6 percentage points or 7 percentage points. In more rural counties, Spanberger gained about 2 percentage points to 4 percentage points.

Democrat Anthony Flaccavento, former congressional candidate and co-founder of the nonprofit Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, is torn over the referendum.

Members of the Goochland Democratic Committee Jen Strozier, Doug Mock,... — Members of the Goochland Democratic Committee Jen Strozier, Doug Mock, Chris Svoboda, Richard Grebe and Judi Sheppard hold a lunch meeting on future get-out-the-vote efforts for the Virginia redistricting referendum, Thursday, April 2, 2026, at GG’s Pizza in Maiden, Va. Credit: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

“At some level, it feels like kicking the can down the road -– which is something that my party has done for a long time –- when it comes to winning back rural and working-class voters,” Flaccavento said.

A welcome change for some

Democrats in rural areas who are tired of being outnumbered by their Republican neighbors are embracing the redistricting plan.

“Fight Back, Vote Yes,” said a sign at a No Kings protest in Louisa County. A second said, “Vote Yes. Stop ICE. No Kings.”

State Del. Dan Helmer, who helped spearhead the redistricting effort, greeted protesters and spoke to the cheering crowd. Helmer is now one of at least four Democrats running in the 7th District.

Helmer said Republicans “think that in red areas like Louisa and in rural areas, that people don’t know what’s going on. But I’m looking around right now, I see strong, proud patriots who know exactly what is going on, who know that we have an aspiring dictator who is trying to take away our democracy.”

Jennifer Lee, who has lived in Louisa for 33 years, said she was eager to support the new district lines. Lee said she felt Republicans were perpetuating a double standard, falsely claiming the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden was stolen from Trump but accepting his push to eliminate Democratic seats through gerrymandering.

“That’s their slogan, right? ‘Stop the steal,’” Lee said. “But they started ‘the steal.’ They’re stealing the seats now in all these districts.”

Democrats see a fight for survival

At a town hall hosted by Democrats at a rural Goochland County recreation center, voters nibbled on finger foods and passed around bottled water as they debated whether redistricting violated some kind of moral code.

“I’m sorry, morality just goes out the door right now. We have to do what it takes for us to survive,” said Bruce Silverman, a local nephrologist. He was voting “yes.”

At one point, Roberta Thacker-Oliver stood up to talk. She votes in the rural 9th District, which would become even more Republican with the new map.

“In the redistricting, the 9th is going to become bigger and redder,” she said, adding, “I need to know what to tell my community about why they need to take one for the team.”

“What do we tell them?” she said.

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