ABOUT-FACE: 6 Key Youngkin Policies Spanberger Will Likely Reverse in Virginia

Next year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger will take Republican Glenn Youngkin’s place in the Virginia governor’s mansion, and she will likely reverse many of his key policies.

Spanberger will also take office with the legislative wind at her back, since Democrats took at least 12 seats from Republicans in the House of Delegates, giving them a 64-35 majority (with one race still undecided).

While Spanberger campaigned as a moderate, she will likely reverse many of Youngkin’s policies, some of them almost immediately.

Here’s a preview of what to expect.

1. Transgender Guidance

During a debate, Spanberger dodged whether she would rescind Youngkin’s policy requiring boys and girls to use bathrooms aligning with their sex, rather than their “gender identity.”

“My priority would be to ensure that local communities, importantly parents and teachers and educators are able to work together to meet the unique needs of each school and each community,” she said.

While the Democrat did not explicitly say she would reverse Youngkin’s policy, it stands to reason that she might.

In Congress, Spanberger supported HR 5, the so-called Equality Act, which would have amended federal civil rights law to outlaw discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. This would have required schools across the country to open girls’ bathrooms and girls’ athletic competitions to boys who claim to identify as girls.

Youngkin’s policy reversed the directives issued under former Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, which mandated that schools adopt a pro-transgender stance and directed schools to keep parents in the dark if “a student is not ready or able to safely share with their family about their gender identity.”  

Importantly, Youngkin’s policies put parents in the driver’s seat, stating that bathrooms and sports teams will be segregated on the basis of sex, not gender identity, but making some accommodations for any student “with a persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs from his or her sex.”

When Youngkin released his policies, Spanberger condemned them.

“Governor Youngkin released a plan to target LGBTQ children in Virginia schools,” Spanberger wrote in 2021. “His mandate will out kids, require their identities not be respected, and hurt them in the very places where they are supposed to learn and thrive.”

2. RGGI

Spanberger may have dissembled on her transgender policy, but her campaign website is clear on energy: She plans to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The RGGI, an interstate agreement, charges power plants for their emissions and uses the money to prop up renewable energy or other projects. Youngkin attempted to exit the initiative, calling it a “hidden tax” on electricity. Virginia’s withdrawal remains in limbo after a judge blocked it. Spanberger has pledged to rejoin it.

Glenn Davis, director of the Virginia Department of Energy under Youngkin, previously told The Daily Signal that the initiative cost Virginians $828 million, “every dollar of which was passed on to Virginians in their energy bills.”

According to the state Department of Energy, Virginia’s involvement in the RGGI actually led to the Old Dominion causing 2.145 billion pounds more carbon dioxide emissions, not less.

3. Immigration

In February, Youngkin issued an executive order directing Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities in the administration of President Donald Trump to assist in the enforcement of immigration law.

Spanberger pledged to rescind that order.

“I would rescind his executive order, yes,” the Democrat told the Virginia Mercury. She claimed that immigration enforcement can pull local agencies away from their core responsibilities.

She said rescinding that order would be among her first acts as governor.

4. Felon Voting Rights

While Northam, the Democrat who held office before Youngkin, established a system of automatically restoring voting rights for felons after they serve their sentences, Youngkin brought back a case-by-case review. Spanberger said she would reverse his policy.

“I wholly support the restoration of rights,” she told the Virginia Mercury. “People have basically just languished under this governor, and from the time I am sworn in, I will work to make sure that they, if they are eligible, get their rights restored.”

She supports a proposed constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights after a felon completes his or her sentence.

5. Contraception

In May, Youngkin vetoed the Right to Contraception Act. While he supports women’s right to access and use contraception, he faulted the bill for failing to include a conscience clause exception and for including “overly broad rights of action, potentially subjecting parents, political subdivisions, and medical professionals to litigation even when acting within their legal rights and professional bounds.”

Spanberger condemned his move, stating that “some politicians believe our access to birth control is up for debate.”

“Virginians can feel confident that when I am governor, I will sign the Right to Contraception Act into law—and I will always defend their reproductive freedoms,” she stated.

6. School Choice

Youngkin championed a school voucher program that would allocate $50 million to help students in lower-income families pay for private school tuition, fees, uniforms, textbooks, transportation, and other expenses.

Spanberger’s “Strengthening Virginia Schools” plan explicitly rejects vouchers, however.

In an agenda item about providing schools “the resources they need for every student to thrive,” the candidate stated she would “reject efforts to divert funding from public education to pay for voucher programs.”

Spanberger will likely reverse even more of Youngkin’s policies, and Virginians can expect her to work with the legislature to change redistricting in the Old Dominion in a way that helps Democrats in the U.S. Congress.

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