Updated December 28, 2024 at 07:00 AM ET
Two Democrats are aiming to trade the halls of Capitol Hill for governor's mansions in their home states of New Jersey and Virginia.
Reps. Mikie Sherrill, 52, and Abigail Spanberger, 45, were part of a wave of Democratic recruits with national security credentials who helped their party regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms, partly as a response to then-President Donald Trump's chaotic first year in office.
As Trump returns to the White House, their 2025 campaigns to voters could serve as a playbook to help Democrats turn the page from losses in 2024.
Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot. She's competing in a crowded primary in New Jersey in June that includes another House Democrat, Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
The two women, who became roommates in Washington, stressed in a joint interview with NPR that the year ahead provides a time to showcase the next generation.
"We have to cut our own path. We have to create a vision," Sherrill said. She noted the spotlight will focus on these two states: "These are the only two races in the nation, the first two races in the nation, where we can stand up and say: This is the vision that we have of the future."
Spanberger, a former CIA case officer, is trying to become the first female governor of Virginia and notes that they both came from what she calls "male-dominated" spaces: the military and intelligence fields.
"What I've always found to be the case is you just do a lot of hard work and as you're opening doors, you make sure that it's left wide open for all of the other competent folks who are going to follow your example — hopefully," she said.
Making direct impact in executive roles
The move to run statewide builds on many issues Spanberger tackled on Capitol Hill.
"The decision to run for governor is not a decision to leave Congress," she said. "It's a decision to run for governor to be able to focus on the the things that are our priorities: strengthening our public schools, addressing rising costs for Virginians, really dealing with the crisis of, you know, supply of housing and all that impacts."
Sherrill said that she quickly learned being in the House was very different from the mission-focused ethos of the U.S. military. She says, "There was was a lack of urgency sometimes, or a lack of strategy."
When she started in 2019, a fellow lawmaker suggested things take more time on Capitol Hill, she said.
"He sort of shook his head and said, 'Oh, you veterans, you just always run to the fight, don't you?'" Sherrill recalled. "And I sat there and I thought, 'Well, yeah, like, that's why I'm in Congress. I want to address these things. I'm not here to to sit back and and wait for a solution to present itself.'"
Both said they tried to build coalitions and make plans of attacks to address top priorities, even in a place like the Hill that leans toward incremental change. Spanberger recently worked with Louisiana GOP Rep. Garret Graves on a bill that preserves Social Security benefits for public service employees who have public pensions.
"Both of us have sort of come to the conclusion that our ability to effect change and to be nimble and to have an agenda and to make sure we get it passed will be even greater as members, as governors," Sherrill said.
After Vice President Harris' loss in November's presidential race, Democrats are debating whether the party should be more progressive or more moderate moving forward.
The tension about ideology and direction had already been a theme in the House Democratic Caucus, especially as lawmakers debated President Biden's signature domestic agenda, dubbed "Build Back Better."
But Spanberger rejects these labels.
"The labels are amorphous and they change. I prefer pragmatic member," she said. "But the reality of it is that the only thing that matters is really where the voters are."
Not enough to be anti-Trump, pro-abortion
Both lawmakers said what they hear about from voters are high prices at the grocery store, rising housing costs and concerns over schools.
Another issue Democrats thought would help win races in 2024 — abortion access — is something both women said is still on voters' minds.
Sherrill said she has two daughters, including one in the military — who could be assigned to serve in states like Texas or Florida with more restrictive abortion laws.
But Sherrill's state of New Jersey shifted 5 points toward Trump in the last election, even as it's still seen as a reliably blue state for Democrats with strong protections for abortion.
"I don't think it's enough for Democrats to run as anti-Trump, pro-abortion and hope for a great results," she said.
She said Democratic candidates need to "define a vision forward that is going to create opportunity for people, that is going to help economically stabilize people, feel like, look, I'm on steady ground now and I'm going to be on steady ground in 10 years from now, and my kids are going to have a good future."
Virginia is the only Southern state that hasn't enacted more abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Spanberger says her pitch for governor is "we're looking to protect and codify the rights of women to access reproductive care, abortion access, but also contraception."
Vision of party future
At the same time, Harris' lead in Virginia shrank 2 points compared to Biden's in 2020, mirroring results nationwide.
Democrats are regrouping after losing the presidential race and debating who should lead their party in the future.
Sherrill points out that the two women's campaigns for governor represent a departure from the candidates who were at the top of the ticket in 2024.
The two races include "people running for governor who have school-aged kids, who get what families are going through viscerally, not just, oh, it looks horrible," Sherrill said. "Guess what? It's been horrible. Yes, we know."
Trump was a factor in their first races for Congress. Now, the two women want to focus on pocketbook issues like affordability.
Spanberger argues that some of the policies Trump campaigned on, like tariffs, will be "deeply destructive."
Trump's desire to slash entire agencies or numbers of federal workers could have huge ripple effects in Virginia. The state is home to more federal workers than any other state in the country.
Whatever their focus, the two gubernatorial campaigns are likely to be viewed through the lens of President Trump's first year back in the White House.
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