Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday as Virginias first female governor, amid a cold drizzle outside the state Capitol after centuries of men holding the states top office.Spanberger defeated Republican Win some Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, also a Republican. It marks a new chapter in Virginia as Democrats pull the levers of power in state government while Republican President Donald Trump sits in the White House in neighboring Washington.The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me," Spanberger said in her address. "I maintain an abiding sense of gratitude to those who work, generation after generation, to ensure women could be among those casting ballots, but who could only dream of a day like today.RELATED STORY | Virginia voters to make history electing state's first female governorSpanberger quoted Patrick Henry, Virginias first governor, saying, Let us not split into factions, which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs. That was the charge Governor Henry put to Virginia at the close of the 18th century, and it is the charge we must answer again today.Two other Democrats were also sworn in. Ghazala F. Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to serve in statewide office in the U.S., is the new lieutenant governor. Jay Jones is Virginias first Black attorney general. He was sworn into his post, notably, in the former capital of the Confederacy.Spanberger's inauguration as the states 75th governor is a historic first: only men have held the post since Virginia first became a commonwealth in 1776. And no woman served as a colonial governor before then.She will be referred to with traditional formality: Madam Governor or, as some officials phrase it, her excellency.According to A Guide to Virginia Protocol and Traditions, males in the official party wear morning coats and women wear dark suits for the inauguration and many, including the new governors husband, kept to that tradition on Saturday.But as the first woman to serve as governor, Spanberger wore all white on Saturday, a possible tribute to the womens suffrage movement. She wore a gold pin on her long, white coat.Spanberger ran on a vow to protect Virginias economy from the aggressive tactics of Trumps administration. On the trail, she spoke of the White Houses gutting the civil service, rising costs of goods and changes impacting the states already fragile health care system.The state Democrats picked up 13 seats in the House of Delegates a year after the partys stunning losses nationwide in the 2024 presidential election.Democrats in the statehouse have vowed to work with Spanberger to push through their bullish agenda, which includes redrawing the states congressional district map ahead of the midterm elections this year. ...read more read less