Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger made a tour of the Charlottesville area Sunday, speaking to students at an event hosted by University Democrats before heading out west to speak to local Democrats about this year’s gubernatorial election.The event at the Greencroft Club, a fundraiser for the Albemarle County Democratic Party, was filled with supporters and local politicians — all expressing enthusiasm about Democrats’ chances this November.
Spanberger will face Republican Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears Nov. 4 for a chance to become the Commonwealth of Virginia’s first female governor. Democrats will also have a chance to expand their slim, 51-49 majority in the House of Delegates.
There was no lack of optimism at the event for Democrats, who begin this year’s elections as the favorites based on pure historical standards. The president’s party has only won the Virginia gubernatorial race one time since 1973, and President Donald Trump’s approval rating continues to tick down with six months to go until Virginia’s election.
In her short remarks, Spanberger made it clear that this election is not only about Virginia, but about sending a message to the Trump administration.
“The rest of the country, and in some ways the world, will pay attention to what it is that we do here in Virginia in 2025,” Spanberger said.
Spanberger discussed the Trump administration’s current efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying that these efforts directly harm Virginia’s economy. The Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads regions of the Commonwealth have especially high concentrations of the around 145,000 federal workers in Virginia.
“When there are assaults after assaults on the federal workforce, we deserve a governor who will stand up and say, not only is this so harmful to those families and to our federal workforce, but this is so bad for Virginia's economy, for the strength of our communities and for our Commonwealth,” Spanberger said.
Spanberger did not dive into much detail on policy, but emphasized that funding public education would be a priority. She also shared her motivations, which include improving the education system, for entering the race, citing hopes to improve Virginia’s quality of life.
“What motivated me to run in the first place was a desire to ensure that Virginia is on path to having the strongest education system in the whole country, that Virginia is a place where we don't just talk about some of the challenges of affordability … but we actually endeavor to fix those challenges,” Spanberger said.
The former undercover CIA agent and congresswoman has experience winning tough races, having defeated an incumbent Republican in Virginia’s 7th congressional district in 2018. Spanberger narrowly won reelection for two more terms before deciding to run for governor.
And while Spanberger may start out as an early favorite, she made it clear that she is not seeking a narrow win, but a sweeping one.
“I don’t just want to win. I want to crush it,” Spanberger said.
A large win for the candidate could have consequences down-the-ballot as well. There are currently eight Republican-held seats in the House of Delegates that were won by Kamala Harris last November. Meanwhile, there is not a single Democratic-held seat that was carried by Donald Trump. This leaves Democrats as early favorites to expand their House majority, especially if Spanberger performs well at the top of the ticket.
After the event, Spanberger spoke to The Cavalier Daily about the role students play in her campaign, noting that they were significant in helping to get her on the ballot.
“We had students across the Commonwealth…who have been collecting petition signatures to get me on the ballot in the first place,” Spanberger said. “The requirement was 10,000, we got more than 40,000, a lot of that is because of the help of different student groups.”
As for winning the votes of students, Spanberger said there is not one specific issue she has identified in her conversations with students that will be key to how they vote. Instead, she said, there are many issues, including the job market, housing availability and threats to social security.
“I don't think there's one specific issue, but I think that what I have witnessed from students is a wide breadth of things that, yes, might impact their life, that also impact the community that they want to see strengthened now and into the future,” Spanberger said.
Second-year Batten student Riley Munson, who attended the event, said that Spanberger is doing a decent job of appealing to young voters, but could be doing more to win their support.
“Abigail Spanberger is obviously the best candidate of the two, and I think she's doing a decently good job connecting with young voters,” Munson said. “I’d just like to see her do a little more in offering her vision of the future.”
Munson heads Cavalier Strategies, a consulting club that offers digital support and strategy to Democratic political campaigns locally. Albemarle County Democrats is one of their clients.
He said that Spanberger’s strategy of using Democrats’ anger toward Trump and his policies to energize them for the election is effective enough, but that Spanberger needs a stronger message going forward, especially to win over young voters.
“Democrats can only talk about Trump and how bad he is for so long before they have to come up with their own platform,” Munson said. “I think young voters want … some kind of clear vision for the future, beyond Donald Trump.”
Outside of her discussion of Trump, Spanberger dwelt on funding for public education in her speech as an important part of her platform. Her opponent, Earle-Sears, also spoke in an event at the University April 22 about the importance of education. At the event, Earle-Sears emphasized her support for public education. Spanberger said Earle-Sears has an interest in pulling money from public education.
Spanberger also alluded to Earle-Sears in the context of standing up to the Trump administration, which Spanberger suggested Earle-Sears has not done adequately.
“I think there's foundational differences between my opponent and me … whether it's even the basics of standing up to an administration and making clear the negative impacts of trade policy and economic policy and pulling federal dollars [from] research,” Spanberger said. “The contrast is very clear, and so hopefully students will [see that], whatever the issue is that motivates them.”
All Democratic speakers at the event — which included Dels. Katrina Callsen, D-Charlottesville, and Amy Laufer, D-Albemarle County, as well as State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville — emphasized that Trump and his policies will play a part in this election. Despite speaking against the Trump administration's policies, Spanberger never mentioned the president by name in her critiques.
“Virginia can be an example for the rest of the nation,” Spanberger said.
Voters will head to the polls June 17 for the primary election, though neither Spanberger nor Earle-Sears will face any challengers from their parties.
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