EXCLUSIVE: One of the Democratic Party’s top rising stars, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, is coming under increasing fire as critics accuse her of pulling a “bait and switch” on voters by abandoning her affordability promises in favor of tax increases on “just about anything that moves.”
A new ad released by Unleash Prosperity on Monday slammed Spanberger over her affordability promises as Virginia Democrats propose new taxes on everyday expenses like dry cleaning, gym memberships and pet care. Unleash Prosperity’s ad puts it bluntly, saying, “Virginia can’t afford this.”
The governor has not publicly supported or signed the measures. A statement by the governor’s office sent to Fox News Digital on Monday emphasized that Spanberger did not sign the tax bills into law “because the General Assembly never passed them, and the bills never reached her desk.” The statement said that Spanberger has “remained laser-focused on addressing high costs for Virginians.”
However, Spanberger has supported a broader set of revenue measures since taking office, including proposals targeting digital services and business activity, as part of an effort to fund priorities such as education and healthcare.
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Steve Moore, an economist who co-founded Unleash Prosperity, told Fox News Digital that while Spanberger cashed in on Virginians’ worries over prices, she “raced out of the gate with all of these very liberal policies, including tax increases on just about anything that moves in Virginia.”
Moore said Democrats across the country should take Spanberger’s decline as a “warning” ahead of 2028.
There has been much buzz around Spanberger and her gubernatorial victory last year, which resulted in Republicans being ousted from power in Virginia. The Democratic Party selected her to give its response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, further evidencing her stardom.
Yet, despite the Democrats elevating her and even floating her as a presidential or vice-presidential pick, Moore said Virginians have been “shocked about that,” explaining why her approval ratings have “absolutely plummeted.”
“She has seen one of the swiftest declines in her popularity in the first six months in office that I’ve seen in many years of politics,” Moore said.
Forty-six percent of Virginians disapprove of her job performance, while 47% approve, according to a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll. Compared with Virginia governors from both parties since 1994, Spanberger has the highest disapproval rating at this point in her term.
In contrast, predecessor Gov. Glenn Youngkin had a 54-39 job approval rating at this point in his term, with the highest favorability going to Democrat Mark Warner – now Virginia’s senior senator – at 78-20.
Moore called Spanberger’s tumbling ratings “the price for her bait-and-switch tax hike on Virginia residents and small businesses.”
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“She campaigned on affordability, and nearly on day one in office, she and Virginia Democrats in Richmond endorsed a catalog of left-wing tax increase proposals on everything from dry cleaners to dog groomers, which make Virginia look like California,” he said.
“Spanberger promised to be a pro-business moderate Democrat,” he went on, quipping, “Maybe she should be known as ‘Scam-Berger.’”
Moore said Spanberger’s quick decline in the polls does not bode well for the Democratic Party’s hopes of taking back the White House in 2028.
“Spanberger is not alone,” he explained. “We’re seeing that with a lot of Democrats around the country; they run as moderates and as soon as they get in, they move to the extreme left.”
“You’re seeing Democrats who are governors and mayors across the country who are advancing very liberal pro-tax policies that are anti-business. And I think it’s a very tough agenda for Democrats to run with in 2028 on the national picture,” he went on.
“That should be a warning signal to Democrats across the country.”
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Last week Trump took a similar line of criticism against Spanberger ahead of meetings in the state. He warned in a Truth Social post that her policies are triggering a tax base exodus similar to New York and California.
“She is adding so many Taxes, a Food and Beverage Tax, Digital Services Tax, Utilities Tax, and more,” Trump wrote. “It has lost its Energy, Vitality, and Strength. People are leaving that would never have even thought of doing so!”
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Spanberger’s office slammed criticisms of the governor raising taxes as “misinformation.”
“The volume of misinformation — spread across social media and repeated in press coverage — made a clarification necessary. The facts are straightforward,” the statement said. “Governor Abigail Spanberger did not sign dozens of tax bills into law — because the General Assembly never passed them, and the bills never reached her desk.”
The office added that “in the opening months of her administration, Governor Spanberger has remained laser-focused on addressing high costs for Virginians” and is “also working alongside legislators and local communities to attract new capital investment.”
Spanberger has also pushed back on the criticism herself. In a post on X, she said Trump and his allies were mischaracterizing her policies.
“The president and his allies are talking about taxes that our state legislature never even voted on and I certainly didn’t sign,” she wrote. “Why? Because if they don’t flood the zone with fake news about fake taxes, people might hear about the bills I am signing to lower energy costs, strengthen our schools, make housing more affordable, and bring billions of dollars of business investment to Virginia.”
A Spanberger spokesperson added that businesses have announced “more than $500 million in new investment in the commonwealth since Governor Spanberger took office in January,” while accusing Trump of focusing on politics instead of economic stability.
“The ballgame changed when the President — whose been busy raising costs for Virginians by starting a reckless war that has skyrocketed inflation and driven gas prices up to $4 — strong-armed states into drawing more Republican congressional seats that he asserted he was ‘entitled’ to before the midterms,” the governor’s spokesperson said. “As prices rise in Trump’s economy, Governor Spanberger will continue her work with both parties to address the high housing, healthcare and energy costs that Virginians are feeling.”
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.