Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday as Virginia’s first female governor, amid a cold drizzle outside the state Capitol after centuries of men holding the commonwealth’s top office.
Spanberger defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, also a Republican.
“The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me,” Spanberger said in her address.
Spanberger ran on a vow to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of Trump’s administration.
In a thinly veiled dig at the president, Spanberger said it was time for Virginians to fix what was broken.
Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to serve in statewide office in the US, is the new lieutenant governor.
“On these steps, Virginia inaugurated our 66th governor and our nation’s first elected African American governor,” Spanberger said in her speech. »