The General Assembly reconvenes today under very different circumstances than it did when it first gaveled in back in January — and not just because we now have a result in the redistricting referendum.
When the legislature convened then, the Democratic majority was looking forward to a Democratic governor who would sign their priorities into law. Now, many key Democratic legislators are openly frustrated with Gov. Abigail Spanberger because she’s vetoed some of their bills and sent many others back with wholesale rewrites. They’re also grousing that Spanberger hasn’t taken a strong enough hand in mediating a House-Senate deadlock on the budget and that her actions on two bills (a veto of legalizing “skill” games and amendments to the bill that would legalize cannabis sales) complicate those negotiations by reducing expected revenues.
In early January, Spanberger might have been at the peak of her popularity — coming off of a landslide win with 60% of those responding to a Christopher Newport University poll saying they were optimistic about her coming administration. Now, multiple polls find she has the lowest approval rating of any new Virginia governor since such polling began in the early 1990s.
What happened? And, perhaps more importantly, what will happen?
The former is easier to explain than the latter. Spanberger touted her bipartisan street cred during the campaign, only to have her first bill she signed be a highly partisan one: the enabling legislation for the special election on redistricting. Republicans have made up for their poor 2025 campaign by mounting a focused 2026 social media campaign to tie Spanberger to every tax bill introduced in the General Assembly, even if she had nothing to do with them and even if they failed in committee. From where I sit, I haven’t been surprised by any of the actions Spanberger has taken, but some voters may have been. She now finds herself in an unenviable position: Republicans claim she campaigned as a moderate and is governing as a liberal, while many Democratic legislators are unhappy that some of her amendments would “gut” or “water down” their bills. By that measure, Spanberger is governing as a moderate on some issues but isn’t getting the credit for it.
Going into the reconvened session, the talk isn’t about what an eagle-eyed copy editor of bills the governor is, but how many of her proposed amendments will be rejected outright. This is not an auspicious start. Here are some observations.
1. This is part of what happens when we elect newcomers to state government
Let’s start with the conflicts opening up between the governor and the General Assembly and remind everyone that Spanberger has never served in state government. That’s not unusual: Neither did her Republican predecessor, Glenn Youngkin. Of the past eight governors, who have held office since 2000, only two served in the state legislature before becoming governor. Two had other state roles, as lieutenant governor or attorney general, so were at least near the legislative process, but four still came in with no previous elected experience in state government (Mark Warner, Terry McAuliffe, Youngkin and now Spanberger). All faced complaints that they didn’t understand the ways of Richmond. If there’s a problem, some of this is on voters who think that an “outsider” will somehow fix things. That was not part of Spanberger’s campaign pitch, but, generally speaking, voters would often be better served by insiders who understand how government really works. But I digress. The point is: History tells us not to be surprised. Democrats complained up until the day Youngkin left office that he didn’t understand how Richmond works; now they’re continuing those complaints with Spanberger. This brings us to the next point.
2. Legislators historically regard governors as figureheads
There’s an old saying in Richmond: “Governors come and go but the legislature is forever.” This is true no matter which party is in charge. Legislators regard themselves as the primary drivers of policy and see governors as temporary administrators with a fancy house. Perhaps things would be different if we allowed governors to run for reelection, but we don’t, so this is how it is. The reality is that most legislators were there before Spanberger arrived and expect to be there after she leaves office. Naturally, they feel resentful when a governor — a new governor, who has never served in state government — surprises them with extensive rewrites to their bills. No reporter ever liked an editor who slashed their story to bits and sent it back for revisions. (I can speak with some experience on this matter.)
Spanberger may have done a poor job communicating her policy views to legislators; I can’t speak to what did or did not happen privately. Her positions may also be wrong; that’s a matter of political taste I can’t adjudicate. However, if someone throws a big inauguration ceremony to install you into a new job, with military jets zooming overhead and people greeting you as “Your Excellency,” you might get the idea that you’re the one in charge — a view that runs counter to what legislators historically think. If senior legislators are now miffed with a new governor for not sufficiently taking their views into account, maybe her inexperience is to blame, but maybe we also shouldn’t be terribly surprised. What’s unusual here is that these are legislators and a governor from the same party, so let’s keep going.
3. A trifecta is not necessarily a rubber stamp
Yes, if the same party controls the governorship, the House of Delegates and the state Senate, it’s a lot easier to get their priorities through. And some sure have: Spanberger has signed a lot of bills that Democrats longed to pass under Youngkin but couldn’t get past his veto pen — an increase in the minimum wage, certain restrictions on guns, a right to contraception; there’s a long list. However, anyone (especially legislators) who thinks that just because we have a Democratic governor, she’s going to wave their legislation through, is forgetting history. Let’s get a quick refresher.
A trifecta is actually pretty unusual in recent Virginia history. Northam had a trifecta, but only for the last years of his term. No Virginia governor has started off with a trifecta since Democrat Douglas Wilder in 1990, and Wilder had an extensive background in the legislature. No Virginia governor who was new to state government has started off with a trifecta since, well, that depends on how you define state government. Charles Robb, who took office in 1982, had previously been lieutenant governor but never served in the legislature — he was certainly still regarded as an outsider by the older denizens of Capitol Square. George Peery, who took office in 1934, had previously been a member of the State Corporation Commission, which put him in the midst of Richmond, although not in the legislature. We may have to go back to Westmoreland Davis, who took office in 1918, to find a governor who had no prior experience with anything in Richmond. Davis’ term was also marked by conflicts with the legislature’s old guard, who resented what they regarded as his interference with their work. Spanberger may want to see if his ghost haunts the Executive Mansion to get some advice.
If you rely on more recent history, we shouldn’t forget that Wilder and the General Assembly leaders of his day were often at odds, even though they were all Democrats. It’s also worth noting that Wilder took office 36 years ago, which is before some current legislators were even born.
4. Spanberger has a Lucas problem
Youngkin learned the hard way that he was not always the most powerful person in Richmond; Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, is. Otherwise, we might be talking now about the construction progress on the “Glenn Dome,” the proposed sports arena in Alexandria that she wouldn’t even let come up for a vote. Lucas is now insisting that the tax exemption for data centers be eliminated, something the House of Delegates and the governor don’t want.
Spanberger is hardly the first governor to discover that the chair of the Senate Finance Committee is a formidable figure. Previous governors had to deal with Hunter Andrews or, before him, Ed Wiley. These were legislative titans who could reputedly kill a bill with a mere raise of the eyebrows or, worse yet, a scowl. The difference now is we have social media, and Lucas is an enthusiastic practitioner who now trolls Spanberger mercilessly.
Spanberger last week touted her close review of bills: “Some people govern by social post,” the governor posted. “I prefer bill by bill, line by line. We’re busy delivering results for Virginians. That’s the job.”
Lucas replied: “Now that you have read each bill line by line, it’s time to focus on the budget. Your Secretary of Finance says that we need more revenue and the House budget is negative by $400M in the out years. That’s not fiscally responsible and won’t happen on my watch.”
Translation: Data center tax revenue would fix that.
Spanberger risks the impression that she’s powerless against Lucas. She might be, but that’s not a good impression to leave. If Spanberger wants to be the one in charge, she needs to do something to show she’s in charge.
5. Spanberger may need to knock heads on the budget
Former Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling has criticized Spanberger for being too passive on the deadlocked budget talks. Bolling is a Republican who can’t be expected to praise Democrats, but that doesn’t make his assessment wrong. It’s hard to know what may or may not be happening behind the scenes, but Spanberger may need to do something publicly to show that she is trying to push legislators toward a settlement.
6. Spanberger needs to get out of Richmond more
Spanberger, in talking up her line-by-line review of bills, is talking responsible governance. However, part of governance is also showbiz. As the song from the musical “Chicago” goes, “Give ’em the old razzle-dazzle.”
To be fair, Virginia’s political calendar is not kind to any new governor. Spanberger took office after the legislature had already started. A legislative session is a whirlwind, followed by a lot of bill reading. Spanberger can’t be faulted for spending time in Richmond, actually, you know, learning and doing the job. However, she’d do herself a favor to get out of Richmond more. She started doing that some last week, making appearances for economic development announcements in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Orange. People like to see their governor, especially when associated with good news. That won’t immediately turn around her approval ratings, but it’s a way to start. Otherwise, she risks just becoming a caricature on social media.
We’ll find out more after we see how today’s special session plays out.
Cardinal’s Richmond-based reporter, Elizabeth Beyer, will be on scene at the Capitol for the reconvened session, so look for her coverage to come. As usual, I’ll have more political news and analysis in West of the Capital, our weekly political newsletter that comes out on Friday afternoons. Sign up here:
