VA-GOV: Spanberger, Democrats tout unions as Virginia governor's race firms up

RICHMOND — Former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger vowed Tuesday to support union labor and federal workers if elected Virginia’s 75th governor, using her first public event as the Democrats’ official nominee to tap into the economic angst created by the Trump administration’s firings and tariffs.

“When you elect me, you will elect a governor who won’t be afraid to stand up for Virginia’s workers,” Spanberger said at a rally at a recreation center in suburban Richmond. “When you elect me, you will elect a governor who believes in not creating chaos, but creating jobs.”

Coming just days after Spanberger and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) secured their parties’ respective gubernatorial nominations, the event showcased the importance Democrats are putting on workers’ rights early in the campaign to succeed term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). While Democrats have long courted labor — and benefited from union campaign contributions and volunteers for phone banking and door-knocking — workers’ rights have not been a major focus in recent Virginia governor’s races. Cultural issues, such as parental rights and abortion, have typically grabbed far more attention.

But that could change given the upheaval that President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service are causing in a state that is home to more federal workers and contractors than almost any other. The impact is likely to be felt most in vote-rich Northern Virginia.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/04/08/spanberger-virginia-governor-race-unions/