POLITICO: “Spanberger Is Focusing Her Campaign for Governor on How She Plans to Lower Costs”
NORFOLK, Va. — New reporting from POLITICO lays out how Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger is focused on lowering costs for Virginians as their next Governor — particularly as the Trump Administration’s attacks on the federal workforce and reckless tariff policy are hurting Virginia’s families and economy.
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Click here to read the full story from POLITICO, or read excerpts below.
Spanberger, speaking with reporters ahead of a campaign event in the battleground region of Hampton Roads last week, shrugged off the fact that her campaign is under the national spotlight. She said the operation is “totally grounded” in Virginia and the “issues and priorities that matter here.”
“If that ends up setting a good example for other people running other places, then that’s their choice,” she said before entering a packed event full of local elected officials, donors and supporters in Norfolk, to mark the launch of her affordability agenda calling for lowering health care and prescription drug costs.
She’s readying forthcoming plans to address other strains on Virginians’ budgets.
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Spanberger is focusing her campaign for governor on how she plans to lower costs – and blaming Trump in Washington and term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in Richmond for making life more expensive.
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A recent analysis from the University of Virginia found that the state is projected to lose more than 9,000 government jobs, propelling a downturn in employment that is worrying state leaders.
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Youngkin has defended the cuts as necessary to trim government waste, and encouraged out-of-work Virginians to pursue other open jobs in the state. His office has created a website to connect former federal workers to new positions. Earle-Sears was captured on leaked audio in April saying that “we don’t want people to lose their jobs” but downplayed the losses.
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Democrats view Hampton Roads, a competitive area that Spanberger needs to win, as the epicenter of several of Trump’s policies. In addition to DOGE layoffs, the Port of Virginia located here is bracing for a decline in shipments from other major trading partners.
It’s also a popular vacation destination for America’s neighbors to the north. Virginia Beach State Del. Michael Feggans, a Democrat running for reelection in one of the most competitive state legislative races, said he’s heard from local business leaders concerned about the decline of Canadian tourists annoyed by Trump’s annexation talk. Democrats are aiming to expand their one-seat majority in the state House, and are adopting a similar economic message as Spanberger to try to make that happen.
“He said on day one he was going to fix the price of everything and bring world peace, and there’s been nothing but chaos, confusion, and people are scared and people are worried,” Feggans said.
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