Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025 @commonwealthtimes @theCT1
VOL. 71, NO. 11 NOV. 5, 2025
SPANBERGER WINS
THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
COMMONWEALTHTIMES.ORG
2025 ACP NEWSPAPER PACEMAKER WINNER
Virginia’s first female governor elected in clean blue sweep SAL ORLANDO Staff Writer MOLLY MANNING News Editor
Abigail Spanberger defeated Winsome Earle-Sears by an overwhelming margin on Tuesday to make history as Virginia’s first ever female governor. Spanberger — a former CIA agent and Representative for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District — ran a hyperforced campaign addressing citizens’ concerns on the cost of living, health care access and threats to democracy under the Trump administration. Four years after Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s claim to power, Democrats dramatically flipped control of the Governor’s Mansion and expanded their grip on both chambers of the General Assembly. “Tonight we turned a page. We turned that page by listening to our neighbors, focusing on practical results, laying out a clear agenda, and leading with decency and determination,” Spanberger said at her rally. SPANBERGER Continued on page 3
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger meets VCU students in Monroe Park on Nov. 3. Photo by Burke Loftus.
64 36 DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
Democrats dramatically expand control over General Assembly
OPINIONS
STAFF EDITORIAL
MOLLY MANNING News Editor SARAH HAGEN Managing Editor
VA HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Democrats flipped 13 House of Delegates seats through the statewide election on Nov. 4. The party came out of the night with an impending trifecta — only several seats shy of a supermajority. Before Election Day, Democrats held 51 seats in the House compared to Republicans’ 49, a slim margin. Democrats now hold 64 seats compared to Republicans’ 36 — the best position the party has held in decades The General Assembly, the legislative branch of Virginia’s government, is made up of 100 members in the House of Delegates and 40 members in the Senate. With a slim 21 seats in the Senate, Democrats have expanded their control over the centuries-old legislature. Last year, Del. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, was chosen as the first Black Speaker of the House in Virginia. The 2024 session also included other historic markers of diversity, including the highest number of female members in the Senate, according to Virginia Mercury.
Graphic by Milena Paul.
BLUE WAVE Continued on page 3
Illustration by Yenni Jimenez Acosta.
We must protect student media, because student media protects us THE COMMONWEALTH TIMES STAFF
The Commonwealth Times, despite being a newspaper run by and for the VCU community, has few ties to actual university administration outside of our funding. The CT — like other outlets hosted by VCU’s Student Media Center — runs on a percentage of the student activity fee all Rams pay. But VCU cannot censor The CT, and it cannot cut The CT’s funding because of the content we publish. STUDENT MEDIA Continued on page 9
Black and gold turn Seahawks black and blue
Hardcore bands raise money for Gaza
‘Gabriel's Rebellion,’ the Musical
see SPORTS page 4
see FEATURES page 8
see SPECTRUM page 6