The problem with political campaigns is that they deal with the issues that move voters, not necessarily the issues the winner will spend time dealing with in office.
We at Cardinal have spent time trying to glean what either Abigail Spanberger or Winsome Earle-Sears would actually do if elected governor. I’ve interviewed both candidates about energy policy — you can read what Spanberger said here, and what Earle-Sears said here — but other attempts haven’t elicited much insight, as evidenced by this headline on a story by political reporter Elizabeth Beyer and health care reporter Emily Schabacker: “Details scarce from gubernatorial candidates on their plan to handle new Medicaid expansion requirements.”
When newspapers were more formidable institutions than they are now, it was traditional for candidates for governor to visit the state’s major papers to talk about their plans. We attempted to recreate that by inviting both candidates to meet with our staff virtually. Both declined, but both campaigns said that they would accept questions in writing. We polled our staff to come up with detail-oriented questions about policy matters: economic questions from business reporter Matt Busse, education questions from education reporter Lisa Rowan, technology questions from technology reporter Tad Dickens and so forth. We had 25 questions in all, a number with convenient synchronicity to the year 2025.
Spanberger answered; Earle-Sears did not, despite a Sept. 9 invitation from her campaign to send questions. That’s also the last time the Earle-Sears campaign has responded to any inquiries of any kind. We’ve posted the questions — and Spanberger’s answers — in our Voter Guide so you can read them in full. If Earle-Sears ever replies, we’ll do the same. Here are some of the highlights, along with my observations about them.
Spanberger remains vague on most details; Earle-Sears silent
Many of our questions were detailed. Her answers were not. The gold standard remains Ed Gillespie, the Republican candidate for governor in 2017, whom I wrote about Tuesday. On the other hand, Gillespie’s specificity did not help him win the governorship. Spanberger’s answers, while nowhere close to Gillespie’s level of detail, do give us some hint as to what her administration might look like. Since Earle-Sears did not respond, we simply have no idea about hers, although we can find a few hints in things she’s said over the years.
Both candidates back natural gas and biomass
While Spanberger supports more deployment of solar and wind energy, she reiterated that Virginia still needs natural gas and biomass, two fossil fuel-based forms of energy. She also reiterated her support for small nuclear reactors, such as the ones being considered by Appalachian Power at its Joshua Falls substation in Campbell County and Dominion Energy at its North Anna power station and the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. (Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.)
None of that is new, she’s said all that before, but it may be notable that she doesn’t shy away from mentioning the parts that would be more controversial in the environmental community: “We must prioritize investing in technologies that can provide sustainable, low-cost power — like nuclear, solar, battery storage, and Virginia’s nation-leading offshore wind industry. Virginia must also continue to invest in the next generation of energy technology — including small modular nuclear reactors, fusion, geothermal, and hydrogen. While we are investing in this next generation of technologies, I also understand that Virginia must meet its energy needs with affordable, reliable energy in the short- and medium-term — and I know that natural gas will continue to be an important part of our energy mix. Additionally, biomass — particularly biomass managed in such a way as to reduce local pollution and encourage sustainable forest management — should remain on the table as Virginia works to meet increasing electricity demand.”
Dominion operates biomass facilities in Altavista, Hopewell and Southampton County; its Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center in St. Paul also burns some biomass, along with coal waste. The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative also has a biomass plant in Halifax County.
While Earle-Sears didn’t answer these questions, she did grant an interview to Cardinal in the summer to discuss energy. You can read it here. In general, she’s far less enthusiastic about renewables than Spanberger is.
Both candidates also back nuclear energy, but no details on where
Early in his term Gov. Glenn Youngkin pushed a small modular nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia, but then backed off. Susan Cameron, our Bristol-based Southwest reporter, asked about this. “Nuclear power already accounts for about one third of our electricity generation — and I believe that developing next-generation nuclear technology will move Virginia toward greater energy independence,” Spanberger said, but didn’t address where such small nuclear reactors should be. “Every community across our Commonwealth is different, and we need to listen to the needs of localities and give local leaders better tools to assess new energy projects so they can make the best decisions for their communities,” she said.
Earle-Sears has previously listed nuclear energy among the “all-of-the-above” sources she favors.
Although Youngkin made his now-abandoned push for a small nuclear reactor in Southwest, it’s not up to governors to pick energy sites. That’s up to utilities and whatever regulatory bodies they are subject to.
Spanberger sees solar and battery storage as key to lowering electric rates; Earle-Sears skeptical
Cardinal business reporter Matt Busse sent a question specifically about Appalachian Power rates, since Appalachian is the main utility in Southwest Virginia. “Customers in Appalachian Power territory are seeing higher bills in part because of expensive legacy generation sources and the decisions of other states,” Spanberger said. “We can bring down bills by investing in new, lower-cost energy generation, including solar and battery storage. We should incentivize solar energy projects in locations that can easily take them on, such as abandoned mine sites, former industrial sites, rooftops, and parking lots, and in locations where the community would benefit from lower energy costs, such as schools and public buildings.”
In her earlier interview with Cardinal, Earle-Sears said she wasn’t opposed to solar but had little faith in it becoming able to power the company. She also alluded to “problems” with energy storage, saying it’s insufficient to meet our needs.
Spanberger wants a statewide data center strategy and wants data centers to pay more for power; Earle-Sears views unclear
Virginia has more data centers than anywhere else. They are what is driving up electricity demand. A state report last year said if data centers continue to grow without restraint, Virginia’s power demands could triple. On the other hand, data centers bring in lots of tax revenue. In response to a question from Cardinal technology reporter Tad Dickens, Spanberger said: “Virginia needs a statewide strategy on data centers — not a statewide mandate, but a strategy that helps localities across every corner of Virginia make informed decisions about their best path forward and know what options are available to them.” She did not elaborate on what that strategy should be but said in an earlier interview with Cardinal that the state could provide localities with a “best practices” list of what to ask about as they negotiate with data centers. “Above all, Virginia needs to make sure that data centers are paying their fair share and not driving up energy costs for everyone else,” Spanberger said. That essentially says she backs making data centers pay more for power, so those costs aren’t shifted to residential customers.
If Earle-Sears has ever spoken at length about data centers, I’ve not been able to find it. During our one interview, all she said was, “It’s not unusual for us to come together and find a way. Someone once said politics is the art of the compromise.”
Only Spanberger offers detail on housing; Earle-Sears silent
Spanberger doesn’t offer many details, but she does have at least one: She wants to increase funding for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, which is officially described as “a flexible financial resource to create, preserve, and support affordable housing projects that cater to the diversity of Virginia’s low-income residents.”
The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk published a story last week on where the candidates stand on housing issues; the paper said Earle-Sears “did not respond to several requests for an interview or to answer questions about housing policies she supports.”
Spanberger might be open to ‘skill’ games; we don’t know about Earle-Sears
“Skill games” refer to those electronic games you sometimes see in convenience stores. Critics call them “neighborhood slot machines” and, technically, they’re against the law in Virginia. Or maybe not. A judge has ruled that some versions are legal. It’s something of a legal mess. It’s an issue that pits casinos (who don’t like the competition) against convenience stores (who like the business) and has split the legislature in ways that don’t follow the usual partisan lines. The General Assembly once passed a bill to legalize — and regulate — the games, but Youngkin proposed so many changes that nothing ever got signed into law.
We asked each candidate about their views. Spanberger’s answer: “I’m continuing to engage in conversations with legislators, small business owners, and community members about these machines. While I continue to give this topic the thought it deserves, I am hearing concerns about oversight and enforcement gaps, lost tax revenue for localities, and consumer protections slipping while Virginia operates without a unified regulatory authority.” This answer may mean nothing, or the reference to “lost tax revenue for localities” and a “unified regulatory authority” could indicate some sympathy for legalization if the right language could be crafted. It’s not an outright “yes,” but it’s not a blanket “no,” either.
I can’t find any examples of Earle-Sears talking about the games.
Not much insight on university board appointments
The Democratic General Assembly has blocked some of Youngkin’s appointments to the governing boards of state universities on the grounds that they were too political. That’s prompted talk among some Democratic legislators of making changes in how these appointments take place. This is a procedural issue with consequences: Right now, these vacancies come up when the legislature is usually out of session, so the governor’s pick takes office right away and might serve for nearly a year before coming up for a confirmation vote.
One proposed change is to change the timing of those vacancies. We also have the unfolding drama at the University of Virginia, where the U.S. Department of Justice forced the school’s president to resign — either without the objection of the board of visitors or with its quiet compliance. In response to a question from Cardinal education reporter Lisa Rowan, Spanberger says that she is “deeply alarmed” by what she calls Youngkin’s attempt “to politicize Virginia’s world-class colleges and universities at the expense of our students’ future” and that she “will take decisive steps to protect Virginia’s institutions of higher education from political influence” but doesn’t say how. While some appointees may be more overtly political than others, as long as the governor makes these board appointments, some politics will be involved somewhere.
Again, Earle-Sears didn’t respond to the questions; she was one of just two statewide candidates who had nothing to say when the UVa president quit. The other was Attorney General Jason Miyares; his spokesman pointed out at the time that the AG’s office represents the school so he couldn’t comment for legal reasons. Earle-Sears had no such excuse.
Neither candidate has a plan to eliminate the car tax
Both say they want to get rid of it, but neither offers a plan. The challenge is that the car tax isn’t a state tax, it’s a local tax. Any local government could eliminate it right now if they wanted to, but then they wouldn’t have the revenue it provides. Any realistic plan to do away with the car tax has to address how localities can make up this revenue. No Virginian should vote for either candidate in the belief that she will be the one to finally rid us of this tax.
Neither candidate takes a position on a secretary of rural affairs
Inspired by a law review article by University of Virginia law professor Andrew Block and then-law student Antonella Nichola, two legislators — Democratic state Sen. Lashrecse Aird of Petersburg and Republican Del. Israel O’Quinn of Washington County — have pushed for a study. Earle-Sears didn’t respond to our questions; Spanberger did and said “I believe that it could be valuable to study the potential role.” It’s notable to me that she didn’t endorse the position outright; that could have been an easy play for a Democrat hoping to boost low Democratic numbers in rural areas. To me, Spanberger’s decision to endorse only a study suggests a certain innate caution. She could have gone for an easy headline and did not.
Once again, you can see all these questions and others — plus the candidate responses where we have them — on our Voter Guide.
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