Candidates in Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial contest former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Prince William (left) and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, R (right). (Spanberger photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury, Earle-Sears photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)
Democratic former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears are in a neck-and-neck race for Virginia governor, according to the first Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll of the 2025 election. Spanberger leads Earle-Sears by a razor-thin margin, 42% to 41%, with 4% of voters supporting another candidate and 13% undecided, the survey found.
With 10 months to go before the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election, the race “is tight overall, but significant demographic differences are emerging”, said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.
Kimball noted that Earle-Sears has strong support among male voters, who favor her 52% to 37%, and white voters, who back her 50% to 35%. Spanberger, on the other hand, leads among women, 47% to 31%, as well as older voters over 70 and younger voters under 30, who support her 46% to 43% and 43% to 33%, respectively.