Abigail Spanberger: Democrats Need to Listen More
- Every four years,a familiar pattern plays out in Virginia,in which governors are limited to one term at a time and elections are held twelve months after the latest...
- So it's only natural for Spanberger to contend that her case for political moderation deserves a serious look, and perhaps for her to be a little tired of...
- Still, Earle-Sears-a Jamaican immigrant and a social conservative who recently insisted, in a debate, that being against protections for people in same-sex marriages is "not discrimination"-has run a...
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Virginia governor’s Race: Spanberger’s Moderate Approach and the National Mood
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What’s Happening in the virginia Governor’s Race?
Every four years,a familiar pattern plays out in Virginia,in which governors are limited to one term at a time and elections are held twelve months after the latest Presidential contest. A semi-substantive campaign breaks out, but the result is driven by the national mood; only once in the past half century has the President’s own party won the governor’s mansion in Richmond. Unlike in New Jersey-where Spanberger’s old congressional roommate,Mikie Sherrill,is running in the other gubernatorial race this fall-in Virginia,the out candidate invariably wins,and whatever that person does is held up as a national model for the Party.
So it’s only natural for Spanberger to contend that her case for political moderation deserves a serious look, and perhaps for her to be a little tired of all the attention on Mamdani. As election Day approaches,Spanberger,who is a warm but assiduous campaigner,is ahead in her race by a wider margin than any candidate in her state’s recent history. Republicans have tried dragging down Spanberger by amplifying the case of Jay jones, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, who was found to have sent text messages three years ago fantasizing about killing the G.O.P. speaker of the state assembly. Spanberger condemned him but wouldn’t call on him to withdraw from the race.
Still, Earle-Sears-a Jamaican immigrant and a social conservative who recently insisted, in a debate, that being against protections for people in same-sex marriages is “not discrimination”-has run a mostly puzzling and underfunded campaign. (Donald Trump only recently, tepidly, backed her.)
The Focus on Affordability and Spanberger’s Strategy
Spanberger’s lead has afforded her the chance to run a straightforward Democratic campaign focussed largely on the cost of living in her state.To optimists, that’s a through line connecting candidates as different as Spanberger and Mamdani. Tim Kaine, the Democratic senator from Virginia, pointed out that both are younger than their predecessors and that both stress the issue of affordability.
But in the race’s final stretch Span