Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Rep. Abigail Spanberger<\/a>, a centrist Democrat from Virginia who sits in a must-win seat for her party in 2024, has told multiple people she will run for governor in 2025.<\/p>\n Spanberger, a powerhouse fundraiser who recently earned a spot at House Democrats\u2019 leadership table, has been laying the groundwork for a statewide run for months \u2014 even years. But she has begun to make her intentions clearer more recently.<\/p>\n Spanberger and one of her top political aides told four Democrats that she is preparing to launch a bid for the governor’s mansion that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will vacate in 2025, according to four people familiar with those conversations. Her team has also begun to discuss plans for a statewide run with her colleagues on Capitol Hill, according to two Democratic lawmakers. All were granted anonymity to speak candidly about plans that are not yet public.<\/p>\n Any announcement from Spanberger would likely not come until after Virginia\u2019s highly competitive state legislative elections this November. But her ambitions \u2014 and that possible timeline \u2014 threaten to add uncertainty about the battle for the House in 2024.<\/p>\n Democrats will have to defend Spanberger\u2019s competitive district to have a shot at retaking the majority.<\/p>\n Spanberger can run for reelection to her House seat and immediately launch a statewide run. But the congresswoman and an aide told two Virginia Democrats last spring that she does not plan to seek a fourth term in Congress, according to two people familiar with those conversations. Sam Signori, who ran Spanberger\u2019s 2022 reelection campaign to Congress, is expected to manage her governor\u2019s bid as well.<\/p>\n Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Spanberger provided the following statement to POLITICO: \u201cAs every Democrat in Virginia should be, Abigail is squarely focused on the 2023 General Assembly races.\u201d<\/p>\n Spanberger isn\u2019t the only Virginia Democrat with an eye on the governor\u2019s office. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and former Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn are among the most likely candidates to enter the contest.<\/p>\n The battle will not kick off in earnest before Virginia\u2019s state legislature elections this November. Democrats are fighting to hold onto the state Senate and flip the House, with the fate of abortion access on the line in the final years of Youngkin\u2019s term.<\/p>\n Spanberger is a prodigious fundraiser who could bring a network of national donors to the race. In the 2022 cycle, she raised upward of $9 million. She\u2019s been raising money at a brisk clip in 2023 for her congressional reelection, ending June with nearly $1.2 million in the bank.<\/p>\n Virginia has very few limits on who can donate or how much. And under the state\u2019s notoriously lax campaign finance laws, Spanberger can use funds raised for a federal race to run for statewide office.<\/p>\n But a transfer from her congressional account to a gubernatorial campaign carries risks. It could upset donors who contributed to her House campaign with the goal of reclaiming a majority in that chamber. It could also put some Virginia donors in an awkward spot given that they may prefer another Democrat running for governor in the \u2014 likely to be \u2014 highly competitive 2025 primary.<\/p>\n Spanberger, who first won her seat by a narrow margin five years ago, has been a leading moderate voice in the Democratic party on issues from fiscal reform to police funding. Last fall, she won a newly created leadership position to advocate for battleground members under House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spanberger’s departure could make it tougher for House Democrats to keep the seat. The former CIA officer rose to prominence in 2018 when she ousted Tea Party-aligned Rep. Dave Brat. The same seat was once represented by then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.<\/p>\n But there would be no shortage of Democratic contenders eager to run in her district, which President Joe Biden won by 6 points in 2020. They include former state Dels. Jennifer Carroll Foy and Hala Ayala, as well as state Sen. Jeremy McPike. Republicans have only one candidate in the district who has begun fundraising: businessman Bill Moher, and he has done so largely by loaning himself money.<\/p>\n Virginia holds primaries in June. The preference among some Democrats is to have an open House seat in a presidential year rather than an unpredictable special election later on, should Spanberger win the governor\u2019s race and be forced to resign. The seat could be far more at risk if she vacated it in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cIf she asked me, and she hasn\u2019t, I’d say don’t run in \u201824,\u201d said Rep. Don Beyer<\/a> (D-Va.), stressing that a statewide campaign would take a massive time commitment. \u201cThe other piece is wanting to hold the House. That’s still a very competitive seat and as Democrats, we’re more likely to hold it with a new candidate in a presidential year.\u201d<\/p>\n Several other national Democrats said privately they don’t expect her to run in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cI would miss her here in Congress,\u201d said Rep. Gerry Connolly<\/a> (D-Va.) when asked about Spanberger\u2019s gubernatorial plans. \u201cBut she\u2019d be an asset in whatever endeavors she chose to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n