Is Spanberger the ‘Anti-Mamdani’? Not So Fast…

While Democrats describe their nominee for Virginia governor, Abigail Spanberger, as a moderate, she voted for a slate of unpopular leftist causes in Congress, from opposing voter ID requirements to amnesty for illegal aliens, from men in girls’ bathrooms to profligate federal spending.

“I have tried to get ‘passionate pragmatist’ to become a thing,” Spanberger told The Washington Post late last year when discussing her image as a problem-solver who can work with Republicans.

Spanberger’s campaign shared a Wall Street Journal report describing her as the “anti-Mamdani,” a moderate counterpoint to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist candidate who won the Democratic Party primary for New York Mayor.

While the Virginia Democrat may not be as radical as the Gothamite, critics say she’s no moderate, either.

“Abigail Spanberger is not the moderate she pretends to be,” Stephanie Kreuz, director of sentinel strategy at Heritage Action, told The Daily Signal. “You don’t have to take my word for it—Spanberger’s record speaks for itself.”

“Abigail Spanberger voted for legislation to allow men to access women’s bathroom and locker rooms, opposed widely supported voter ID laws, denied law enforcement tools to keep violent illegal aliens off Virginia’s streets, supported removing protections for underage women against rapists and traffickers, prevented basic health and safety standards for abortions, and attacked Virginians’ Second Amendment rights,” Kreuz added.

The Heritage Action organizer also faulted Spanberger for having “voted for trillions in unnecessary COVID spending that has driven up inflation and made everything from groceries to buying a vehicle more expensive.”

“Spanberger is in lock-step with the extreme Leftists in her party—and far too Left for Virginia,” Kreuz concluded.

Rave Reviews From the Left

Leftist groups have given Spanberger high ratings for her votes in Congress. Americans for Democratic Action rated her 75% for 2020 and 2021, for example.

The LGBTQ activist group Human Rights Campaign gave her a 100% rating for 2019-2022, and the pro-abortion Planned Parenthood Action Fund also gave her a perfect score for 2019-2024. She received perfect scores from the American Civil Liberties Union (2019-2022) and from unions like the National Education Association (2019-2024), and the American Federation of Government Employees (2019-2023).

Unsurprisingly for a Democrat, she does not rank well with conservative groups like Heritage Action (she scored between 0% and 10%), Americans for Prosperity (between 0% and 19%), or the American Conservative Union (between 3% and 11%). She also received occasional zero ratings from the pro-energy American Energy Alliance, the socially conservative Family Research Council Action, and the anti-tax Club for Growth.

Men in Girls’ Bathrooms

While Spanberger has claimed it is a “lie” to say she voted for men to have access to girls’ bathrooms, she repeatedly sponsored and voted for legislation that would require it.

Spanberger co-sponsored HR 5, “The Equality Act,” in 2019, 2021, and 2023. She voted for the legislation each time the House considered it.

The Equality Act would amend federal civil rights legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, inserting new language into the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which desegregated public schools.

Federal Spending

While Spanberger is running on a platform of making Virginia more affordable, she voted for trillions in spending during the COVID-19 pandemic and in its aftermath, a massive spending surge that arguably triggered the inflation of the Biden years.

She supported the $1.9 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020 (it passed by voice vote so there is no record of her vote); a supplemental funding package with $900 billion in COVID-19 spending in December 2020; and the $2.1 trillion American Rescue Plan Act in February 2021. These COVID-era bills cost nearly $5 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Critics have claimed only a small fraction of the funds went to health care.

She also voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden later celebrated as “the largest climate investment in history.” While Democrats at the time said the bill would pay down the deficit and combat inflation, a Cato Institute study estimated that the bill will cost between $936 billion and $1.97 trillion over the next ten years.

Spanberger also voted for the November 2021 infrastructure law, which authorized more than $500 billion of direct spending and tax breaks.

Opposing Voter ID

Polls repeatedly show that most Americans support requiring voters to present proof of identification to vote. An October 2024 Gallup poll found that 84% of Americans support voter ID, for example.

Yet Spanberger repeatedly voted for legislation that would undermine such a requirement.

She repeatedly voted for H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” which would have eviscerated state voter ID laws, have prevented states from updating their voter registration rolls, forced states to automatically register voters, and set up a public funding program for candidates running for Congress.

She voted for H.R. 4, the “John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,” which would have allowed the Justice Department to veto state voter ID requirements.

Last year, she voted against the SAVE Act, which would prohibit states from registering people to vote in federal elections unless they first prove they are American citizens.

Opposing Border Security

During both the first Trump administration and under President Joe Biden, as the country experienced an influx of millions of illegal aliens, Spanberger repeatedly voted for legislation to grant legal status to illegal aliens and against legislation to secure the border.

In 2019, she voted for H.R. 5038, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would have created a new pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens who work on farms.

She repeatedly voted to codify President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which aimed to give amnesty to illegal aliens. She voted against H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, which would have beefed up border security under the Biden administration.

Gun Control

Spanberger also repeatedly voted for restrictions on Second Amendment rights.

She repeatedly voted for the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act,” which would have required universal background checks for firearm ownership. She voted for the “Assault Weapons Ban Act,” which would arbitrarily restrict firearm ownership by banning “high-capacity magazines” for civilians.

Abortion

Spanberger has also taken a strong stance against limits on abortion.

She voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have repealed state laws regulating abortion, such as informed consent requirements and parental involvement, and would have directed federal tax dollars to support abortion. She repeatedly refused to sign a discharge petition to bring the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to the House floor.

George Floyd Act

Finally, while Spanberger presents herself as an advocate for law enforcement, she voted for the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” which would have put police at increased risk of harm when carrying out their duties.

The Spanberger campaign did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.

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