Overview
- Abigail Spanberger was sworn in at noon on the South Portico of the State Capitol as Virginia’s 75th governor, alongside Ghazala Hashmi as lieutenant governor and Jay Jones as attorney general.
- Hashmi becomes the first Indian-born and first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in the U.S., while Jones is Virginia’s first Black attorney general, with a parade through Capitol Square following the ceremony.
- Spanberger named Jenna Conway as state superintendent of public instruction and Carrie Chenery as secretary of commerce and trade, signaling early moves on schools and economic development.
- Her administration has prioritized education, affordability and public safety, with an early shift on energy that includes plans to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and expand solar and storage as Democrats advance related legislation.
- Outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin, in his final address, cited roughly $157 billion in business investment, $9 billion in tax relief and declines in homicides and fentanyl deaths, framing policy contrasts for the new Democratic legislature.