Abigail Spanberger
Appearances
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
I think the governor of Virginia has a primary job, and that is to stand up for Virginians and to stand up for Virginia.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And what is just unbelievable at this moment is that our governor and our lieutenant governor, who's my opponent in our November 2025 race, are doing neither, excusing the fact that Virginians who work hard, Virginians who serve our country, that they are losing their jobs, have already lost them, and are fearful that tomorrow might be the day they get that that fateful email.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
It's just outrageous.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
well every every part every corner of our commonwealth is impacted by these potential layoffs and by the ones that have already occurred we have federal employees across virginia certainly very very centralized in northern virginia and in the hampton roads region but across the commonwealth everywhere i go i am hearing either horror stories of people who just got an email one day and the job that they have worked in for years is gone
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
or they are living in fear that they might get that email. And in the story, it is the same everywhere I go. I had a spouse of an active duty service member approach me at an event in Norfolk, Virginia last weekend, talking about how everyone in his office received this fork in the road email.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And while he's active duty and a uniformed officer, the worry is that they might cut the entirety of the civilian force. Frankly, was her worry what's to prevent them from, you know, axing her husband as well. And the impact of certainly it is on the individuals. It is on people who have devoted their lives to serving our country through all of these various things.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
of federal roles, it's also an impact on Virginia. The University of Virginia just came out with a study, and they said a 10% reduction to the federal workforce equates to about 39,000 jobs lost across Virginia and a potential cut of $6 billion, with a B, $6 billion in revenue, or $6 billion in economic output within our state. This is enormous.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
It's consequential for the individuals, but it's consequential to our economy, right? If you've just lost your job or you're fearful you might lose your job, you're not taking your family out to the movies. You're not taking your spouse out for Valentine's Day dinner. You're not replacing the microwave that might be on the fritz.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
You're not stopping and buying the snacks at the 7-Eleven on your way home. the impact is significant and it is felt across the entirety of Virginia.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
I got to tell you, you guessed this one correctly. Anywhere I travel across Virginia, I have yet to have a single person bring up the Gulf of America to me. In addition to the attacks on Virginia and Virginians, I have people bringing to me the fact that the cost at the grocery store is still too high.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
The cost of cereal, I've got three kids at home, elementary schooler, middle schooler, and high schooler, right? The cost of cereal is expensive. If you've got kids at home who love cereal or adults like me, Grocery store prices, high. Prices at the pharmacy counter, still a huge portion of people's monthly take home.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
The housing crisis, whether it's an issue of affordability or just overall lack of supply. Education, the desire to have our kids be safe in school. The issue of recruiting and retaining quality teachers. Ensuring that our kids continue to do well in school as we kind of come out of this post-pandemic timeframe. The challenges of behavioral health.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
All of these things, these are the issues that people bring to me. I have yet, yet to hear anything about the Gulf of America.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
There's no such thing as method to the madness in the national security realm. The reality is that that vote was a shameful vote. We are the United States of America. We have been that shining city on a hill. We are the beacon of freedom. We are the oldest democracy in the world.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
The fact that we, through our vote at the United Nations, would side with Russia and North Korea against our ally Ukraine as they fight, and they just hit the third anniversary of their fight for their freedom, it is just shameful. And it is astounding because for anyone who has come up, not just in the national security space, but anybody who lived through the 80s, right?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
The Russians, the Soviets before them, they are not the side we want to be taking. And for all of our democratic allies across Europe and across Asia to join together in rebuking Russia and standing up for Ukraine, And we back away from that? Like, we are denying our own strength. The strength of the United States has always been in our ability to lead.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And whatever she was talking about in that interview, it wasn't, there's no method. It's just madness. And it is hurting our own national security. It is hurting our long-term partnerships with our friends and allies. And it is, it's just unthinkable, frankly. But it is the reality of where we are in this moment.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And I, my hope is that every American who remembers what it means that we are the country that defeated the Nazis, right? We are the people who helped lead to the end of the fall of the Soviet Union. And we watched the demise of communism. Like, that is us. Here we have in the United Nations, we've aligned ourselves with those authoritarian dictatorships. It's terrible.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
Yeah, well, for Virginians, my message is we have the ability right here on the ground to focus on the issues that matter to community members across the Commonwealth, strengthening our public schools, endeavoring to actually lower costs for Virginians, ensuring that our housing supply is sufficient to meet the demand of all of the people who want to move to our beautiful, wonderful state, keeping our communities safe
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
and protecting our rights. Virginia is the only state in the South that hasn't further restricted reproductive rights since the Dobbs decision. And we get to go to the polls in November of 2025. And all of those things, it matters to Virginians. certainly because we're the ones who live here, are impacted by the work that I will do as governor.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
But to everybody across the country, I would say our race matters to you as well, because Virginia and New Jersey are the only two states that in 2025, this November, we have statewide races. In Virginia, we have the opportunity to flip our governorship. We currently have a Republican governor. We can flip our governorship. We can flip our lieutenant governorship. We can flip our attorney general.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And we can expand upon the majority of 51 out of 100 Democrats that we have right now and make that number larger. And when we do that, we will send a message to the rest of the country. We will send a message to candidates running across the country in our 2026 midterms. that we did it in Virginia and you can do it anywhere across the country. We are the bellwether state.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And when we win here, it is the first domino to fall in ensuring that we win across the country in 2026 in those midterms. And so for anybody who wants to be engaged, for anyone who is feeling depleted or just so many feelings at this moment. Like, turn your attention to Virginia. Support our candidates, whether it's me as the governor candidate or our House of Delegates candidates.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
Sign up to volunteer from afar. You can come to Virginia, knock doors for us in the fall. But we need all the help that we can get because we know that all eyes will be on Virginia because we know we're the bellwether. And on the ground, I can tell you Virginians across the Commonwealth are committed to making sure that as the bellwether, we do our job and we signal what is to come.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And that is success, that is electing strong Democrats and making a real change, not just here in the Commonwealth, but being the precursor to all of that in 26 and 27 and ultimately 28. So you can go to my website, which is abigailspanberger.com. You can sign up to volunteer. You can donate to the campaign. You can get engaged.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
And we are just so happy and grateful for any and all support that we can have from anywhere across the country. It matters to us in Virginia. Certainly it matters to the future of our Commonwealth, but we recognize the role that we play on the greater stage. So please, please come join us. We're going to win, but we're gonna need every bit of help that we can to flip these seats.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Abigail Spanberger on Fighting for Virginians and Americans
Thank you so much.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
New unemployment claims in Virginia are skyrocketing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
So, if you've lost your dog, and how many here has ever lost a dog? Oh, you mean it's not unusual?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
Wow. Well, Virginians want and deserve a governor who is going to stand up for them. We have more than 320,000 federal employees here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And we know that across our communities, we are just facing dire, dire impact. as people are losing their jobs, as people are worried that they might lose their jobs.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And importantly, when you have such a density of population of federal employees and federal employment, as we do in Northern Virginia and in Hampton Roads, we have entire economies of contracting companies and of local restaurants and local small businesses that are used to relying on
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
their community for patronage and for business and that means that if you have virginians who are losing their jobs because of these doge cuts because of the choices of this administration uh that they're not taking their families out to dinner uh they're not you know going to the local restaurant down the street. And the economic impact is enormous.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
Just recently, Old Dominion University put out an estimate that the impact last year of the federal workforce in Virginia was $44 billion in economic output to what it added to the state. And so the attack on the federal workforce, sure, it's about the people who are losing their jobs and losing their livelihoods and their commitment. And we're talking nurses at the VA and researchers at the NIH.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
But we are also talking about the larger economy in Virginia. And so it's just, it's so out of touch with everything I am hearing when I travel across the Commonwealth, because we are all impacted here in Virginia by these cuts, by the attack on the federal workforce. And the fact that she doesn't even understand that is just stunning.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And being so dismissive, right? So the lieutenant governor, my opponent, and our governor, they have pushed out a website. They have given advice saying that people should go to LinkedIn and go to Indeed to find new jobs. And they've given, like literally at a press conference, they talked about how you should look for keywords in job advertisements and put those in your cover letter.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And again, it just doesn't even begin to understand the reality of what's happening in Virginia. If you worked in international aid and development, you're not just going to transfer over to a new role. If you were a nurse at the VA and you have devoted yourself to providing health care to our nation's veterans, yeah, maybe. But you work at the VA because you believe in it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And the dismissive nature that they are taking with these layoffs is outrageous. But the fact that they are not even acknowledging the impact on our economy is just unbelievable. It's stunning, actually.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And why is it that politicians think they get to legislate or dictate whether you can go out and get contraception? It's really unbelievable. And then to say, oh, this isn't necessary because the Griswold decision makes clear that one has the right to purchase or to obtain birth control.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
Well, yes, but we now know clearly that when people say, oh, it's settled case law, that if there are motivated people who want to take rights away, they can find a way. And so anyone who says, OK, well, Griswold, the right to contraception exists at the federal level because of a Supreme Court ruling, well, then you shouldn't mind just making sure, just
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
putting that bill into place at the state level. And so, you know, this is the second year in a row that the governor has vetoed this legislation, notably my opponent voted against it. And, you know, looking towards the future, I presume that the General Assembly is going to try again to pass this bill next year And, you know, my opponent is running for governor now. She voted against it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
We know that. But if she were to be governor, would she sign this bill into law or would she join Governor Youngkin in vetoing it? Because I know one thing for sure. As governor, when this bill gets to my desk, I will sign it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
Well, Virginia is a 2025 race. I will be on the ballot this November. And importantly, while we've talked about some of the issues that are important here in Virginia and the threats to the federal workforce, it is an issue everywhere across the country, but Virginia is particularly impacted. What we are seeing at the national level, at the federal level, is such a distraction.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
from the everyday challenges that virginians certainly are feeling and are facing everywhere i travel across virginia i hear about the challenges of affordability you know people are working multiple jobs they are trying to make ends meet and yet it is difficult to walk into the grocery store and buy everything on your list without wondering and trying to do the math in advance
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
Is that credit card going to be maxed out? Can you actually afford that dozen of eggs, right? Which cereal should you get for the kids? Because, man, oh, man, those prices keep going up. Or if you're starting a family and you want to put down roots and you want to buy a house, can you even buy a house in Virginia? Are you priced out of the market? Can you live in the place where you want to live?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And while there is all this chaos at the federal level, while we see attack after attack from this administration, across the Commonwealth, Virginians want a governor who's going to put them first. They want a governor who is going to focus on actually addressing issues of affordability in our healthcare and in our housing market.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
They want a governor who's gonna recognize that the strength of our public schools is what creates opportunity for their kids into the future. I'm a product of Virginia public schools, both as a kid and then from the University of Virginia, a proud public university in our Commonwealth. I've got three kids in public school here in Virginia, elementary, middle, and high school.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And so I think what I want people to know is that in Virginia, we are a bellwether state. We are the first ones. This year, we have a chance to flip our governorship. We currently have a Republican governor. We currently have a Republican lieutenant governor. And we currently have a Republican attorney general. All three of those positions are elected separately this November.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And so we have a chance to flip three statewide seats. We have a chance to demonstrate, certainly here in Virginia, that a governor that they elect will focus on the issues that matter to them, that will focus on standing up for our Commonwealth. But importantly, the rest of the country will get to see what it is that we achieve here.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
And I hope that, well, I know that we will set a good example, because in addition to those three statewide seats, we also have 100 seats in the House of Delegates up for election this year, all 100. We currently have a Democratic majority of 51.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
and we know this year with solid candidates running across Virginia that we can expand our majority and we can send a message to the rest of the country about the fact that while we are facing these challenges, while things feel awful and chaotic, we absolutely can flip seats and win seats.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
We're going to do it in Virginia this November, and we look forward to seeing the rest of the country follow our very, very good example.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Gov Candidate Abigail Spanberger Rips MAGA GOP in Virginia
You can visit my website at abigailspanberger.com. Thank you so much. We encourage people to come. You can sign up to volunteer from afar. Certainly every bit of support helps. And I'm just grateful that we can set that good example for the rest of the country. And in doing so, really do right by our fellow Virginians here in the Commonwealth.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Gets Destroyed by Dem Govs in Public
Let me tell you who some of these people are because they are Virginians, so many of them. They are the nurse at the VA who takes care of our nation's heroes. They are the social security employer who ensures that our grandparents get their social security checks. They are the law enforcement officers who keep our country safe from terrorist threats the world over.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Gets Destroyed by Dem Govs in Public
They are the intelligence officers community members who spend every single day working to keep their neighbors safe. They are the air traffic controllers who work day in and day out to avoid tragedy. They are moms and dads and community members, and they are Virginians. And this is, yes, about them, and for them it's a kitchen table issue, but the impact
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Gets Destroyed by Dem Govs in Public
The idea that we would have a president and a governor who's standing by as said president says we're going to push them out of the workforce. And this is a kitchen table issue in Virginia. But the impact is substantial across the entirety of the country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
I think the governor of Virginia has a primary job, and that is to stand up for Virginians and to stand up for Virginia.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
And what is just unbelievable at this moment is that our governor and our lieutenant governor, who's my opponent in our November 2025 race, are doing neither, excusing the fact that Virginians who work hard, Virginians who serve our country, that they are losing their jobs, have already lost them, and are fearful that tomorrow might be the day they get that that fateful email.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Democratic Governors are Leading the Fight Against Trump
It's just outrageous.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
Well, what I know to be true is the governor and lieutenant governor, they're clearly not listening to Virginians because everywhere I go across our Commonwealth, people are bringing to me their deep, deep concerns about what this administration is doing. I was at the grocery store with my husband picking up some vegetables.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
last-minute items, and I had an IRS employee and his spouse come up and talk to us about their concerns. I was in a parking lot in Northern Virginia. I had a military officer talk to me about the impact he's seeing in his office. I had a military spouse in Hampton Roads talk to me about the concern in her husband's office. I've heard from
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
Medical professionals at the VA in southwest Virginia worry that they might lose their job. I cannot go anywhere without having Virginians bring to me their concerns. And it's not just the federal employees who are potentially losing their jobs. It's small business owners. And it's outrageous that the governor is not standing up for Virginians or Virginia.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
Well, and, Rachel, people aren't buying it. The reality is, if you are an NIH researcher because you want to bring your knowledge, your scientific inquiry to the cause of trying to save lives into the future, you don't want to have your governor tell you to get on LinkedIn. If you are an IRS worker who is gearing up for a busy tax season, you do not want your governor saying, go to Indeed.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
If you are a person, many of them veterans themselves, who work the suicide prevention lines or who work at the VA supporting their fellow veterans, You do not want your governor saying, no, no, it'll be fine. That mission-driven job that you've believed in, that you've spent day in and day out devoting yourself to, you'll be fine. You'll find something else.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
It is absolutely out of step, not just with the economy of Virginia, not just with our needs on the ground, but it's out of step with the fact that the More than 145,000 Virginians who devote themselves to public service do it out of mission. They do it because they believe in the service that they are rendering to our community and to our country.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
The governor and the lieutenant governor do not recognize that service. And they degrade it when they say you can simply just go find another job. For so many people, this is not a job. This is a calling. This is how they give back to our community.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
And if the governor and the lieutenant governor are not going to stand up for those individuals who want to serve our neighbors every single day, then they should at least recognize the Incredible economic impact that is coming if they don't stand up. The University of Virginia put out a study just this week.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
A 10 percent cut in Virginia's federal workforce is about 39000 people and it is $6 billion. billion in lost economic output in our state. It is unthinkable what is happening. And we need everyone to be raising the alarm bells, ringing the alarm bells, because this is hurting real people and this is hurting our economy.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
And frankly, this is why I'm running for governor, because I want to ensure that every day, whether it's this or lowering costs or ensuring Virginia's on the path towards having the best public schools in the nation, addressing the housing affordability and the housing shortage crisis impacting our Commonwealth or the real issues of safety in our community. I want to serve Virginians.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
And that means at times, standing up even when it is hard. And that is all that Virginians are asking of our governor. We're not seeing it. We've got elections this year. We are running around our commonwealth making clear that Virginians deserve so much more. They deserve a governor who's standing up for them. That's exactly who I will be.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
And I'm grateful for the opportunity to stand up for Virginians tonight. And anybody else who wants to join us, please go to my website, abigailspanberger.com.
The Rachel Maddow Show
As measles outbreak turns deadly, RFK Jr. gets the facts wrong
Thank you for having me.