Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger drew a large crowd Tuesday evening to Charlottesville’s Jefferson Theater, exactly two weeks before Election Day. The candidate was joined by two popular figures in Democratic politics — former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Scientist Bill Nye, known to most as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” both of whom gave the opening remarks before Spanberger came out.
The event marks Spanberger’s return to her alma mater for her last scheduled Charlottesville appearance before Election Day. In her speech, she reflected on how it felt to return to Charlottesville now in her current position.
“When I was walking across Grounds many years ago … I would have never guessed that one day I would be here in this building running to serve the Commonwealth and the communities that I love across Virginia,” Spanberger said.
Spanberger ran through her platform if elected governor — one that primarily hits on the cost of living and cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration.
Having served three terms in Congress, the candidate pointed to her experience crafting legislation. She previously campaigned on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed under the Biden administration and discussed her experience working with Buttigieg on the bill. She said it was her experience working on legislating in Congress that made her want to run for governor, saying that state governments can work more efficiently to pass legislation.
“There is nothing more extraordinary than being able to witness people's lives, to be welcomed in and to be told the challenges that people face,” Spanberger said. “I realized that so many of the issues that people would bring to me … that my state government is the place where you pass a bill, the governor signs it into law and you are meaningfully impacting people's lives.”
Nye, who said he had worked with Spanberger in the past, gave her high praise for her time in Congress.
“I can tell you, as your member of Congress, she continually, continually worked across the aisle, getting people on the other side to work together on space, on defense, on drug addiction, affordable housing, transportation and public health,” Nye said. “Abigail Spanberger is the real deal.”
Despite the rally taking place on the Downtown Mall, the University was the backdrop of the event, with students surrounding Spanberger and holding signs which said “VOTE.” Speakers urged students to register ahead of Friday’s deadline and to cast their ballot in the election.
Fourth-year College student Amanda Southfield was one of the students on stage, and said she enjoyed being on stage with Spanberger and Nye, and was able to shake Buttigieg’s hand. And as for getting out the vote, she said she and most of her friends plan to vote on Election Day as opposed to early.
“I think voting on Election Day is a really cool concept and a fun thing to do with a group of friends,” Southfield said.
Southfield said it has been exciting to see an engaged student body ahead of the election, especially given that Virginia is one of only a few states with an important off-year election.
“I think I’ve seen a pretty high degree of excitement,” Southfield said. “Seeing other people excited about it is exciting for me.”
Spanberger also touched on issues which have outsized importance at the University, namely federal pressure on higher education.
The University has received a great deal of federal pressure since President Donald Trump took office, with seven investigations opened — two of which have now closed with the other five suspended — by the Justice Department. The administration also asked the University to sign a Compact for Excellence in Higher Education. The Compact, which the University rejected Friday, asked schools to agree to certain provisions in order to be prioritized for federal funding.
“Here in Charlottesville, we know that academic freedom is also under attack,” Spanberger said. “We need a governor who will stand up for the ideals put in place with Mr. Jefferson's University.”
Spanberger had previously indicated that, if elected governor, she wanted to make reforms to protect the University from outside influence. Potential reforms pushed by Democrats include changing the process by which the governor can make appointments to university governing boards, as well as making a university’s top attorney report to the school, not the attorney general’s office.
Charlottesville welcomed political candidates from both sides of the aisle Tuesday evening, as Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid was the guest speaker at a Center for Politics event in the Rotunda. Spanberger’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, spoke at the Rotunda in April but has not returned to the University since. The Democratic nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general — State Sen. Ghazala Hasmi, D-Chesterfield, and former Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk — have not appeared at the University during the campaign.
Tuesday’s rally left no mention of Hashmi or Jones, both of whom are running behind Spanberger in polling. Jones was plagued with scandals in recent weeks regarding text messages he sent encouraging violence against Virginia Republican politicians. Earle-Sears has attempted to tie Jones’ scandal to Spanberger, though it is unclear whether it will make a difference in the governor’s race.
Spanberger also shared a message with students, hitting on a component of one of her campaign’s slogans, “Service. Country. Commonwealth.” Spanberger comes from a law enforcement background, having served in the Central Intelligence Agency. She encouraged students to find a way to serve their community, even if it is not in combat.
“I say that because, as we have so many students who are here gathered today, I just want to impress upon you … that there are so many examples for the ways that you can choose to serve a community, through advocacy, through education, through service in the military or in public service,” Spanberger said. “And I welcome you.”
Overall, the rally appeared a victory lap for Spanberger, who has never trailed in a public poll of the governor’s race. She closed with one final question for the crowd — which set a Downtown Charlottesville political rally record of over 1,300 in attendance.
“Are you ready to win?” Spanberger asked.
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