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.