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Obama Backs Spanberger With New Ads in Tight Virginia Governor’s Race

The digital push seeks to lift Democratic turnout as recent polling shows the contest narrowing.

Former Representative Abigail Spanberger, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Virginia, during a campaign event at the Fairfax County Government Center on the first day of early voting in Fairfax, Virginia, US, on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Spanberger will face off with Winsome Earle-Sears this November, giving the state its first female governor. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg
HENRICO, VIRGINIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) addresses a small get-out-the-vote rally on the first day of early voting outside the Eastern Government Center on September 19, 2025 in Henrico, Virginia. Virginians are going to the polls to vote for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, all 100 seats in the state legislature and many other public offices. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Democrat Mikie Sherrill participates in the final debate in the New Jersey governor's race with Republican Jack Ciattarelli, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
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Overview

  • Barack Obama appears in two Spanberger digital ads emphasizing abortion rights, economic messaging, and the reminder that every vote counts.
  • Winsome Earle-Sears and GOP groups brushed off the endorsement and ramped up criticism over Democratic AG nominee Jay Jones’ violent 2022 texts that Spanberger condemned but did not disavow with a call to exit.
  • A Trafalgar Group poll conducted Oct. 13–15 shows Spanberger at about 47.5% to Earle-Sears’ 45.3%, within the survey’s 2.9-point margin of error.
  • National spending is intensifying, with the Republican Governors Association directing $1.5 million into the race following the Jones controversy.
  • Early voting is underway through Nov. 1, Election Day is Nov. 4, and President Donald Trump has not endorsed Earle-Sears though he has backed Attorney General Jason Miyares.