Every year is an election year in Virginia, and we gain national attention as one of the only states to vote for governor after a presidential election year.

The rights of trans youth could be a factor Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial election and legislative control in Richmond. Republican Winsome Earle-Sears opposes the rights of trans kids at school. Democrat Abigail Spanberger has largely avoided the subject. Each candidate is trying to cast the other as the extremist on the issue. LGBTQ+ Virginians have been grappling with what it means to be queer and trans in a moment where their identities are thrust into statewide and national politics. Other Virginians, meanwhile, worry about its impact on their children.

In what many are calling a historic moment for Virginia, the 2025 governor’s race is already making headlines because the Commonwealth is on track to elect its first woman governor. 10 News anchor Abbie Coleman met with both candidates to probe their plans, their priorities, and their paths to history. She sat down one-on-one with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears to talk about her vision for Virginia and why she believes she’s the right person for the job.

In what many are calling a historic moment for Virginia, the 2025 governor’s race is already making headlines because the Commonwealth is on track to elect its first woman governor. 10 News anchor Abbie Coleman met with both candidates to probe their plans, their priorities, and their paths to history. She sat down one-on-one with Democratic Candidate Abigail Spanberger to talk about her vision for Virginia and why she believes she’s the right person for the job.

Some local lawmakers are working to fundamentally change elections in Virginia. Here's how.

The two nominees for the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election are now set. Current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears was confirmed as the Republican nominee on Saturday, the Virginia GOP X account confirmed.

Virginia's lieutenant governor is used to facing formidable obstacles in her political campaigns. And Winsome Earle-Sears' bid to be Virginia’s next governor is no exception. The Jamaican immigrant and Marine veteran will need to win the Republican primary in June at a time when her party has been taken over by the “Make America Great Again” movement. Then she'll have to woo moderate and independent voters in the November general election as Democrats look to tie her to President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the federal government. Two conservatives are trying to challenge her in the primary. Virginia has never elected a woman as governor.

The Virginia legislature has ended its 45-day session by addressing a slew of budget amendments ranging from tax cuts to child care. But some lawmakers say they will likely need to return to the Capitol later this year to address a mounting threat: massive federal government layoffs planned by the Trump administration. Virginia in December was home to nearly 315,000 federal workers and many more government contractors, behind only Washington, D.C., and California. So far fewer than 300 Lawmakers said such sweeping changes to the state’s workforce by the White House would deeply impact the state’s economy.