Spanberger Wins Virginia Governor’s Race

Press Releases

Washington, DC –  Tonight, Abigail Spanberger – who has been a VoteVets’ candidate since initially flipping a competitive House seat in 2018 – was elected Governor of Virginia. Details on VotesVets’ investments in this race can be found below. In response to Abigail’s victory,  VoteVets released the following statement:

“Abigail Spanberger is a strong, proven leader who will always fight for the people she serves. Abigail has been victorious time and again in high stakes circumstances and she always delivers results. Virginia families – including the over 600,000 Veterans and over 120,000 active duty Servicemembers who call the Commonwealth home – will have a true ally in the governor’s mansion, someone focused on lowering costs and improving their lives. VoteVets was proud to be by Abigail’s side when she was in Congress and we’re excited to continue working alongside her as she takes on this new role.”

VOTE VETS’ VIRGINIA INVESTMENTS: 

  • In February, VoteVets made a historic investment in the Virginia Governor’s race, directly contributing $500,000 to Abigail Spanberger’s campaign – the largest single donation in the 20-year history of VoteVets.
  • With the initial investment, VoteVets  launched a video across our digital platforms that amplified the voice of aVirginia Veteran. The video spoke directly to Virginians about issues we all care about and which Abigail will fight for: lowering costs, tackling drug addiction in rural areas, and ensuring politicians are actually listening to and working for the people they serve.
  • Over the summer, VoteVets Action fund launched a $500k ad campaign. The fully integrated paid media campaign was a key early investment that used the credibility of a local Veteran to shape public perception of the Republican nominee among moderate Independent and Republican swing voters.
  • VoteVets Action Fund brought  its total investment in the Virginia gubernatorial race to $1.6 million in October with another $500,000 media buy that ran statewide and another $100k direct investment in Abigail’s campaign. The ad targeted white male swing voters under 45 who swung away from Democrats last cycle.  The ad ran statewide on streaming, OTT and connected-TV platforms, along with live sports programming on cable systems in key markets. The ad also ran statewide on  YouTube and Spotify with additional statewide cable targeting that occured on sports-focused channels (e.g. ESPN).
  • VoteVets also invested in helping win a key, Red to Blue state house district, HD-64, with a $120,000 cable ad campaign. In the final week of the campaign, VoteVets expanded the targeting of this ad after adding additional funds to the initial buy. 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

Last cycle alone, VoteVets spent $50 million helping to elect VoteVets-endorsed candidates. Our investments proved to be effective in helping candidates get across the finish line and we were able to see a success rate at a time when other Democrats were not as successful. Thanks in part to our investments, 143 VoteVets-endorsed candidates clinched victory amidst a global rightward lurch. 

VoteVets selects candidates based on their credibility, their character, and their democratic ideals.  With strong service records or national security experience, our candidates also have an ability to reach independent and swing voters that are crucial to winning elections.

Last cycle alone, VoteVets spent $50 million helping to elect VoteVets-endorsed candidates. Our investments proved to be effective in helping candidates get across the finish line  and we were able to see a success rate at a time when other Democrats were not as successful. Thanks in part to our investments, 143 VoteVets-endorsed candidates clinched victory amidst a global rightward lurch. VoteVets was an early supporter of both Spanberger and Sherrill when they ran for and flipped Congressional House Districts in 2018, instantly becoming rising stars in the Democratic Party.

In 2024, VoteVets-endorsed candidates were victorious even in extraordinarily difficult contests. In an election where Republicans won control of all branches of the Federal government, our vocal support and bold ads were pivotal in clinching victory: Reuben Gallego for the Arizona Senate seat, Elissa Slotkin  for Michigan’s Senate seat, and Andy Kim’s New Jersey Senate seat. Stateside, we rallied for Jeff Jackson, who won a crucial Attorney General’s race in North Carolina. In pivotal House races, VoteVets’ work yielded new members such as Congressman Derek Tran in California’s 45th Congressional District and Maggie Goodlander in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District (where VoteVets invested in an independent expenditure that helped guide her through a competitive primary process). 

On the state level in the past, VoteVets has already been key in electing popular governors such as Tim Walz in Minnesota and Wes Moore in Maryland, as well as Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fonte, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.

In addition to resources invested directly into campaigns, VoteVets holds access to a proprietary Veteran & Military Family Voter File with over 10 million voter records (80+% confidence), giving us the singular power to surgically target Veterans and military families and mobilize them to vote. Over the past several cycles, we have deployed Veteran-centric direct mail and relational Veteran-to-Veteran organizing, thereby demonstrably increasing Veteran and military family turnout in key states and districts across the nation — and growing the power and resonance of the Veteran voice as a voice of authentic authority and integrity on matters of policy.

Simply put, with the right message and messengers, VoteVets can target voters that no one else in the Democratic ecosystem can — voters that can make the difference in Virginia and New Jersey as well as tight midterm races we expect in 2026.