A rising star among Democratic Party moderates, Virginia’s first woman governor, Abigail Spanberger, was elected on the same night last November as New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist. In a wide-ranging interview with François Picard, Spanberger outlines a pragmatic vision of politics rooted in coalition-building, institutional trust and addressing voters’ everyday concerns through practical governance rather than ideological confrontation.
She argues that electoral success begins with engaging directly with people – going door to door and listening to their priorities. Asked whether Germany’s chancellor is right to worry about US election interference in upcoming regional elections, where the far-right AfD is leading, Spanberger says: “As a proud American, the fact that the question is a relevant one, I find that distressing.”
She nonetheless insists that Russia, China and Iran remain greater potential threats to European elections than the United States. Now more than ever, Spanberger asserts, the United States must rise to the occasion and “live and abide by our democratic values by setting an example, a clear example, for what it looks like to be a strong democracy.”
