Welcome, Abigail Spanberger, First Female Governor of Virginia
By • January 20, 2026 0 327
By Evelyn Keyes
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) delivered her inauguration remarks from the State Capitol following her swearing-in as the 75th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dressed in white—a color long associated with the women’s suffrage movement and often worn by women making historic political firsts—Spanberger marked the milestone as the first woman to hold the office in the state’s history. She laid out her administration’s priorities, including lowering the cost of living, protecting immigrants and finding common ground with political opponents.
Spanberger getting inaugurated. Photo by Evelyn Keyes.
The ceremony took place at the State Capitol, a site closely tied to Virginia’s founding history and to Patrick Henry, the state’s first governor and a leading voice of the American Revolution. Henry, best known for his “Give me liberty, or give me death!” speech, helped shape Virginia’s identity as a champion of individual rights and self-governance—ideals frequently invoked in modern inaugural traditions.
Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi (D-Va.), the first Muslim to hold statewide office in the U.S., and Attorney General Jay Jones (D-Va.) were also sworn in.
You can see Spanberger’s full inauguration speech below.
