Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger in Paris: 'There's no single blueprint for Democratic Party'

A rising star among Democratic Party moderates, Virginia’s first woman governor Abigail Spanberger was elected the same night last November as Democratic Socialist New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani. In a wide-ranging interview with François Picard, Spanberger outlines a pragmatic vision of politics rooted in coalition building, institutional trust, and solving 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 U.S. election meddling in upcoming regional elections where the far-right AfD leads, Spanberger says: “As a proud American, the fact that the question is a relevant one, I find distressing.” She nonetheless insists that Russia, China, and Iran remain greater potential threats to European elections than the United States. And so, now more than ever, Spanberger asserts that the United States must rise up, "live and abide by our democratic values by setting an example, a clear example, for what it looks like to be a strong democracy."