[Spectator] During the 2025 gubernatorial election the voters of Virginia believed they were choosing between pragmatic Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger and lackluster Republican Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. The former was well funded and portrayed favorably by the corporate "news" media as a centrist, while the latter struggled to raise money and was labeled an extremist because of her strong support of gun rights. In the end, Spanberger won by double digits, and most Virginians thought they were getting a slightly more liberal governor than her predecessor, Glenn Youngkin. Yet the moment she took office, it became obvious that Gov. Spanberger was no moderate.
This is something to remember as the 2026 midterms approach. Every Democrat who utters the word "affordability" must be regarded as a con artist.
Immediately upon assuming office, she signed an executive order that reversed her predecessor’s policy whereby state and local law enforcement were required to cooperate with federal immigration authorities to detain illegal aliens convicted of criminal offences. This order sent a clear message that Spanberger viewed immigration through the ideological lens of far-left Democrats like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz rather than the moderate perspective she espoused during the election. She didn’t deign to tell Virginia’s voters how limiting cooperation with DHS would protect them and their families from criminals who are in the country illegally. Instead, she recited the tired shibboleths echoed in every sanctuary state:
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