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Who are Abigail Spanberger’s daughters? Age and more as Virginia’s first female governor calls out daughter for not cleaning her room

Virginia's Governor-elect is a mom to three school aged daughters, who accompanied their mother as she gave her victory speech on November 4
posted by Sourodeep Dey
Wednesday 11/5/2025 at 2:07AM EST
  • Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger celebrates with her family after delivering remarks at her election-night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on November 04, 2025 in Richmond, Virginia. Spanberger defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to become the first female governor in the commonwealth’s history in an election that was seen as a national political bellwether leading into the midterms. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
    Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger celebrates with her family after delivering remarks at her election-night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on November 04, 2025 in Richmond, Virginia. Spanberger defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to become the first female governor in the commonwealth’s history in an election that was seen as a national political bellwether leading into the midterms. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

    Virginia has elected its first female Governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger. On November 4, Governor-elect Spanberger took the stage in Richmond for her victory speech and made a special mention to three daughters.

    Abigail Spanberger is a mother to the 17-year-old Claire, a senior in school, 14-year-old Charlotte, who is in the ninth grade and the 10-year-old Catherine, a sixth grader. During her victory speech, Spanberger referred to her youngest daughter and injected some humor into an emotional moment. As per a video of the speech made available by ABC News, she said:

    “Catherine, you did not clean your room today as you promised me.”

    The sixth-grader, who had been standing behind her mother, accompanied by her father and sisters, responded and said:

    “I’m working on it!”

    Continuing the joke, Spanberger said:

    “She's working on it. If I was working on it, we wouldn’t have won this election, okay?”

    Before she called out her youngest daughter jokingly, however, Spanberger signalled to all three of her daughters and shared how she had always worked to secure their, and other Virginian children’s futures. The Governor-elect said:

    “To my daughters Claire, Charlotte and Catherine, you inspire me and motivate me every single day. Everything I do, I do to build a better future for you and for all of Virginia's children. And I am so proud of you. Every single day I am lucky to be your mother.”

     

     

    Abigail Spanberger’s daughters have been a central focus throughout her political career

    Abigail Spanberger, who was a federal agent and then an operative with the CIA before embarking on her political career, has been candid about the difficulty of balancing motherhood with a highly involved career.

    In 2019, while speaking during the #McEachinWomensForum panel a year after winning her first race and becoming a member of the House of Representatives from the state’s 7th congressional district, recalled that while working at the CIA, it was difficult to remain in a male-dominated field and talk about being a mother. As per Richmond Magazine, she said:

    “I didn't draw any attention to the fact I was a mom because I heard the way some of my colleagues talked about their spouses who were moms and I didn't want to be bucketed in that way because I thought it would hurt my career. I only once worked with another woman, and never worked with a mom.”

     

    The now Governor-elect also shared that she had second thoughts about highlighting her role as a mother during her first election campaign. According to Richmond Magazine, she recalled,

    “I was really nervous about the fact that I had, particularly younger children … and one, I wanted to protect them for a bit, but also I didn't want people to say 'Oh, well, she's a mom, and her kids are young, and I don't know about this.’”

    After her first win, however, Spanberger and her youngest daughter stole hearts when they coincidentally appeared together during her victory speech. After she won her first race in 2018, a photograph of Spanberger and her then-4-year-old daughter, Catherine, went viral.

    As per People Magazine, the photograph, taken from the side, showed the young Catherine playing at her mother’s feet as she gave her victory speech.

    According to Richmond Magazine, Spanberger ended up picking her daughter and taking her to her hip during the speech.

    TOPICS: Abigail Spanberger