PHOTOS: Spanberger rallies Democrats ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections

Jun 17, 2025 - 03:25

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PHOTOS: Spanberger rallies Democrats ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Though she may not be on the primary ballot, herself, former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger rallied at her Henrico County alma mater Monday night ahead of Tuesday's primary elections.

Spanberger hosted a political rally at Tucker High School in Henrico on Monday, June 16 -- the night before Virginians head out to the polls on Tuesday, June 17 to name who they’d like to represent their party of choice in several races in November.

Neither of the candidates for governor -- that being Spanberger and current Lt. Gov. Winsome-Earle Sears -- will appear on these primary ballots, as that race has already been set.

The Republican nominees for both the attorney general and lieutenant governor races are also set. Current Attorney General Jason Miyares will run for reelection, while former radio host John Reid is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor.

Virginia Democrats still have to name their nominees for both of those races.

At Monday night's rally, Spanberger encouraged attendees to take to the polls on Tuesday, saying she was "excited [to] know how we're moving forward."

June 16 political rally hosted by former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger amid her run for governor. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)

Spanberger also spoke about her platform and her vision for the future if she is elected. She emphasized wanting to make Virginia more affordable by lowering costs for things like prescription, energy and housing, improving healthcare access and strengthening public schools.

"Students [should] have the same opportunities -- not because of luck, but [because] of good governance," she said.

When discussing education, Spanberger criticized her opponent, saying Earle-Sears "brags about how she's improved education" while "Virginia's reading scores are dead last."

8News reached out to Earle-Sears' team for comment on this and received the following statement:

“That’s an A+ observation from Abigail Spanberger, except it was the last Democrat in the Governors mansion who kept our kids out of schools during COVID that caused test scores to plummet. The NAEP scores she is speaking about prove that. It was the Youngkin-Sears administration that got kids back in schools where they belong. Winsome served on the State Board of Education and knows how to support teachers, parents and students. When Winsome is Governor, we will continue to see our student’s scores recover from disastrous policy choices that kept them out of the classroom.” Peytol Vogel, press secretary for Lt. Gov. Winsome-Earle Sears

During the rally, Spanberger also promoted her upcoming statewide bus tour, which will begin on Saturday, June 21 in Richmond. It will make more than 40 stops, allowing her campaign to "[hear] directly from our fellow Virginians."

8News is your Local Election Headquarters. Stick with us as we cover Tuesday's primary elections.