Spanberger leads centrist push before Virginia vote | JQJO

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Democrat Abigail Spanberger is running a low-drama, centrist campaign for Virginia governor, fixating on rising costs and soybean farmers while sidestepping Donald Trump and playing down the prospect of being the state’s first woman governor. She warns Democrats against overpromising, criticizing student debt pledges, as a new party report and ally Gov. Josh Shapiro echo her pocketbook focus. Internal rifts sharpen as progressives back New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and his proposals including government-run grocery stores, free transit and rent freezes, while Republicans cast Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill as out of touch.