Democrats triumphed in all three of Virginia’s statewide elections Tuesday after racking up big numbers in the Richmond region.

Former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, who grew up in Henrico County and got her political start in the Richmond suburbs, will be the first female governor in Virginia history after defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

In the race to become the next lieutenant governor, Richmond-area state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi beat former Richmond-area radio host John Reid. Hashmi’s victory will trigger a special election to fill her seat in the Virginia Senate representing a district that includes much of Chesterfield County and part of the city of Richmond.

Completing the sweep was former Democratic delegate Jay Jones, who successfully ousted Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares despite the controversy over offensive text messages Jones sent to a Republican lawmaker a few years ago.

Spanberger performed the strongest of the three, winning 58% of the vote, while Hashmi finished with 55% and Jones 53%.

Of Virginia's 134 cities and counties, all but five saw voters shift towards the left relative to last year's presidential election. Historically, the party that wins the presidency struggles in Virginia the following year, and Republicans may also have been hurt by the ongoing government shutdown, with more than 150,000 federal workers living in Virginia.

Following the statewide trend, the Richmond region went sharply Democratic. Spanberger, Jones and Hashmi easily won the city vote, and significantly widened the Democratic margin of victory in the suburban counties of Chesterfield and Henrico.

After Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin won the Chesterfield vote in 2021, unofficial results Tuesday night showed Spanberger winning the county by 17 percentage points.

House of Delegates will be controlled by Dems

Results in the Richmond area also helped Democrats significantly expand their majority in the House of Delegates. Of the 100 seats, Democrats appeared to safely win 63 of them, with a 64th too close to immediately call.

It will be the largest margin for Democrats since 1989.

Democratic challenger May Nivar defeated Republican Del. David Owen in western Henrico’s 87th House District. 

In Chesterfield’s 73rd House District, Democrat Leslie Mehta unseated GOP Del. Mark Earley Jr.

And in Chesterfield’s 75th House District, Republican Del. Carrie Coyner lost her seat to Democratic challenger Lindsey Dougherty.

Coyner is the Republican lawmaker who received the controversial texts from Jones. She wrote on Facebook that she plans to refocus on her law practice and spend time with her family.

State Sen. Louise Lucas appeared to reference the controversy with a late-night tweet that read: "Virginia is for lovers, not snitches."

Local races

Several Richmond constitutional offices were also on the ballot Tuesday, but there was no competition in those races after incumbents prevailed in Democratic primaries earlier this year. 

Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin won another term in office, as did Sheriff Antionette Irving and Treasurer Nichole Armstead.

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org.