(AFP) – Two women, two states, two landslide wins. Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill aren’t just the new governors of Virginia and New Jersey — they’re the fresh faces of a centrist movement seen as key to the revival of Democratic Party politics.
Former public servants who entered Congress together in 2019, Spanberger and Sherrill have long shared more than just political goals. After Tuesday’s sweeping victories, they’re being hailed as the pragmatic wing of a party still desperate to define itself after defeat to Donald Trump’s Republicans in 2024.
Spanberger, 46, made history as Virginia’s first female governor, cruising to victory with a stunning 14-point lead in the East Coast state of more than eight million. In New Jersey — a state of a similar size in the same region — Sherrill, 53, defied expectations with a similarly commanding win, beating her Republican rival by more than 13 points. While neither state has backed a Republican presidential candidate in over two decades, Trump’s strong showing last year — narrowing the gap with Kamala Harris — had Democrats sweating. Spanberger and Sherrill’s decisive wins appear to have calmed those nerves, at least for now.
– Service before politics –
In 2019, after two years of Trump in the White House, Democrats regained the majority in the House of Representatives. Spanberger and Sherrill arrived in Washington as part of a wave of centrist Democrats focused on security, service and problem-solving. Their backgrounds read like resumes built for leadership.
Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot, Naval Academy graduate, Georgetown University-trained lawyer and federal prosecutor. Spanberger spent years as a CIA officer, working undercover on overseas missions. When they first came to Congress, they bunked together in Washington, forging a friendship that has lasted through campaigns and Capitol Hill chaos. Sherrill recently told CNN the pair frequently discussed their campaigns. “Here’s somebody who comes from that national service background like I do, someone who’s a mom, like I am. She has three kids, I have four,” she said.
– Future of the party –
Their policy platforms struck a similar chord with voters: a laser focus on the cost of living. In her victory speech, Spanberger promised to “focus relentlessly on what matters most, lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian.” With inflation still biting and Democrats bruised from the 2024 elections, that message resonated.
But Spanberger and Sherrill aren’t the only ones shaping the party’s future. In New York, newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani — a 34-year-old progressive, Muslim, and self-described democratic socialist — rode a wave of enthusiasm with the same message about affordability. But his broader political outlook poses a sharp contrast to the centrism of Spanberger and Sherrill, begging the question: Who best represents the future of the Democratic Party?
Political scientist Wendy Schiller of Brown University says the two governors “believe in the core Democratic messaging, but they’re centrist, meaning they aren’t perceived as too ideological.” That could be a winning formula in swing states, unlike deep-blue New York.
With Trump set to leave the White House in 2028, the stage is already being set. And Spanberger and Sherrill may be just getting started.
– Robin LEGRAND
© 2024 AFP
