Virginia General Assembly

Rule Changes

Democratic majority in both chambers

For 250 years and 74 governors, Virginia had never elected a woman to its highest office. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA case officer, changed that on January 17, 2026, taking the oath on the Capitol steps in Richmond alongside two other history-makers: Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to hold statewide office in the U.S., and Jay Jones, Virginia's first Black attorney general. Within hours, she signed 10 executive orders and appointed 27 new members to public university boards, including filling vacancies at UVA following recent board resignations.

Updated Jan 20