Political observers are calling Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s abrupt early drop in approval scores “stunning.” They shouldn’t, as a result of it isn’t.
For many Virginians — particularly these of us who supported her candidacy in good religion — this second feels much less like a shock and extra like a affirmation.
Spanberger ran as a realistic, bipartisan problem-solver. She positioned herself as somebody who would rise above get together squabbles, deal with affordability, and restore a way of regular, principled management in Richmond. That message resonated and precipitated her decisive win.
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And that’s exactly why her early governing method has been so disappointing.
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Rather than govern because the centrist she promised to be, Spanberger has taken a noticeably partisan turn. Early government actions and coverage priorities have leaned closely into national Democratic Party priorities, not the kitchen-table issues that outlined her marketing campaign. For voters who anticipated steadiness and independence, this shift has eroded belief, which is difficult to regain as soon as misplaced.
Policy disagreements alone don’t clarify the drop in approval. There’s a deeper challenge at play: credibility.
During the marketing campaign, I was amongst Spanberger’s strongest supporters and monetary backers. Like others, I raised critical issues about her co-nominee for lawyer normal — issues rooted in his past remarks and broader questions of judgment and character. At the time, Spanberger acknowledged these issues. In private conversations, she went additional, indicating that when elected she would handle them straight — even suggesting the potential of an investigation or management change if warranted.
That dedication mattered to our household. It signaled that Spanberger was keen to place precept above politics. Yet since taking workplace, there was no significant indication that she intends to comply with by way of. The identical issues she once publicly condemned now seem to have been put aside. The urgency is gone. The accountability is absent.
That disconnect shouldn’t be a minor political inconsistency — reasonably, it cuts to the core of management. Voters can tolerate disagreement. What they wrestle to just accept is a niche between what’s promised and what’s finished.
This sample isn’t new. During the marketing campaign, Spanberger declined to withdraw her help from now-Attorney General Jay Jones regardless of acknowledging his troubling habits. In different phrases, she prioritized electoral unity over ethical readability. Now in workplace, that very same intuition appears to be guiding her selections.
Similarly, her method to governance has at instances favored public positioning over quiet, constructive engagement — a method that feels extra partisan than pragmatic, extra performative than problem-solving.
Taken collectively, these decisions paint an image that differs sharply from the one voters have been bought.
None of this implies Spanberger’s scenario is past restore. As even her critics observe, it’s early. Governors can reset, recalibrate, and reconnect with voters. But that requires greater than higher messaging or extra press conferences. It requires a return to the core commitments that outlined her marketing campaign: independence, accountability, and a willingness to make tough selections, even after they carry political threat.
Right now, many Virginians are asking a easy query: Was the marketing campaign the actual Spanberger, or is the governorship?
Until that query is answered with readability and consistency, her approval scores received’t simply dip — they may proceed to replicate a broader erosion of belief. Without belief, even early missteps turn into lasting doubts, and Virginia deserves higher than that.
Cayley Tull is an entrepreneur and co-founder and president of the Tullman Family Office.
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