2 Former GOP Lawmakers Back Democrat Candidate In Virginia Governor’s Race

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Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger received a welcome boost as she heads into the final stretch of her campaign to try and become the next governor of Virginia, with vocal support from two former Republican members of Congress.

In a new development first reported by CBS News, Spanberger’s campaign scored endorsements from former Reps. Barbara Comstock and Denver Riggleman. The show of support from the two, who both backed Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential race, also includes an advertisement. (RELATED: Former Republican Congressman Endorses Harris)

“I saw firsthand that Abigail was one of the most bipartisan members of Congress,” Riggleman says in the advertisement, while Comstock adds that her “support for Abigail isn’t about party, it’s what’s best for Virginia.” 

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin cannot run for a consecutive term this year due to state law. His chosen candidate in this year’s contest, Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, has struggled in the polls as she attempts to become the first GOP candidate since 1997 to succeed a fellow Republican as governor of the commonwealth.

“This election is a choice between sanity and chaos. We must protect our children from Abigail Spanberger’s extremist agenda,” Earle-Sears said in a social media post earlier this month. 

Riggleman served only one term in the U.S. House and was defeated by a Republican challenger in 2020 before going on to serve as a senior technical adviser for the House Jan. 6 select committee following the 2021 Capitol riot. After winning two terms, Comstock lost her battleground congressional seat to a Democrat in the 2018 midterms during Trump’s first term. Both have publicly criticized President Trump since leaving office.

CBS News noted that Riggleman also appeared in an advertisement supporting Spanberger’s 2022 reelection run for the U.S. House.

The Virginia governor’s race this November will be one of the first statewide contests to be held during Trump’s second term in the White House. The statewide off-year contest in Virginia is often viewed as a bellwether for the current incumbent president.

In recent years, Virginia has become a more reliably blue state; however Democrats’ vote share in the state did drop during the 2024 presidential election. While then-Vice President Harris won the state, she earned fewer votes than Joe Biden did during the 2020 contest.

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