Virginia Democrats saw wins across the board in the state’s off-year elections on Tuesday evening, sweeping races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

The environment on the ground proved to be beneficial for Democrats, who tapped into discontent over the economy and President Trump’s efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce.

Republicans, on the other hand, were unable to repeat their wins under Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) from four years ago, even in the face of a scandal that appeared to hinder Democrats in the attorney general's race.

Here are five takeaways from Virginia’s 2025 elections:

Spanberger dominates

Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s (D-Va.) victory came as no surprise. Most polls showed her leading Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) by between 6 and 10 points. As of 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Spanberger led her rival 56.2 percent support to 43.8 percent.

Throughout the campaign, Spanberger stayed focused on her message of affordability and defending the state’s large federal workforce from Trump administration cuts. Early exit polls indicated that both of these issues were top of mind for Virginia voters. According to ABC News exit polls, 6 in 10 Virginia voters said cuts to the federal workforce this year have impacted their family financially. Two in 10 voters said the cuts impacted their finances “a lot.”

Earle-Sears struggled to find an issue that stuck with voters, often finding herself on the defensive over the workforce cuts. The lieutenant governor attempted to take a page out of Youngkin’s 2021 playbook by focusing on........

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