HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger will be sworn in as the first female governor of Virginia on Saturday and campaign volunteer Courtney Champion will be in attendance.
Champion, a Henrico mother of two, first met the lawmaker in 2018 during Spanberger's first Congressional campaign run.
“My first impression of her was that she was very warm and relatable, down to earth. I noticed right away that she always got down on kid level when she was speaking to children. I loved that so much, because adults can be really intimidating, you know,” she said.
Champion’s daughter was 6 years old when they both met Spanberger and described the impact the historic moment means to her family.
“I'm so excited for my daughter, for all of the young girls and women across Virginia. I'm also thrilled that my son, who is 9, gets to see someone become governor who I know cares about people and is a mom. I just think it's really important that little boys get to see women in office too,” she said.
Spanberger recalled talking with an excited teenage girl who said she’s interested in someday running for president during a recent interview with the Associated Press.
“For the next generation of kids, it’ll be normal to see a woman in this role, whether it’s doing the joyful things of ribbon cuttings or the hard things of contending with whatever challenges we might be facing into the future,” Spanberger said.
Champion recalled the day Spanberger invited her and her daughter to visit the U.S. Capitol and enjoyed a rare moment with the then-Congresswoman.
“My daughter got off the bus she said, ‘Mom, for my seventh birthday, I don't want a birthday party. I don't even want cake. I want to go visit Abigail in DC,” Champion said. “Sure enough, on my daughter's seventh birthday, we went to DC and she spent her birthday on the House floor with Abigail.”
Champion’s daughter will join her when she watches Spanberger take the oath of office on Saturday.
“What a huge moment for her to be able to see this person who at the time was just a regular person to her and now is about to be governor,” she said. “I’m really thrilled that she'll get to see that in person.”
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