Spanberger speaks: How she’ll fight Medicaid cuts, create more affordable housing, and protect public schools

This story first appeared in Dogwood

From firing tens of thousands of Virginia’s federal workers to cutting $26 billion from the commonwealth’s Medicaid budget to attacking Virginia’s leading universities, President Donald Trump and his administration are impacting the pocketbooks and futures of every resident of the commonwealth.

The Dogwood asked Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and two-term congresswoman, to tell Virginians in her own words how she’d help them survive and thrive if elected governor on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Here’s what she told us:

How would you handle Trump’s plan to cancel health insurance for 350,000 Virginians? 

“The reality is that people across the board—hospital folks, associations, and doctors—have outlined the dire nature of this bill. The bill is meant to ‘save money’ by kicking people off Medicaid.”

“While Republicans cynically made it so that element of the bill goes into effect after the 2026 midterm elections, it gives us some time to invest in modernizing Virginia’s Medicaid enrollment and eligibility systems and to invest in a workforce that helps Virginians navigate changing eligibility requirements, resolve issues, and get the coverage they need.”

“We will ensure that as few Virginians as we can possibly manage lose their Medicaid.”

How would you deal with the crisis of rural hospitals closing?

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act “will result in a loss of $26 billion to Virginia’s hospitals. The bill also states that Virginia will get (back) $500 million over the course of five years, so $100 million a year over five years. Those numbers do not add up.”

“Since being signed into law by President Trump, the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ law has already forced three clinics—in Buena Vista, Churchville, and Weyers Cave—to close their doors. According to an analysis conducted while the law was negotiated, at least six rural hospitals—including four in Southwest and Southeast Virginia, one in Hampton Roads, and one in Northern Neck—are also at risk of closure. But the number of hospitals at risk of closure could be a lot higher than six.”

“My opponent (Republican Winsome Earle-Sears) has suggested that Virginia’s ‘rainy day fund’ of $4.7 billion could be used as an offset. But $26 billion is a lot more than $4.7 billion. I would also make the argument that a rainy day fund is not what you blow through when the president and the Republican Congress push into law an outrageous attack on Virginians’ health care.”

“A rainy day fund is there for when there’s some catastrophe that needs the state to step in.”

“The reality is that no, as governor, you cannot just shift and change and stop the dire nature of this bill. It is so dire that the state cannot fill the void of $26 billion of federal dollars that have historically gone to our hospitals.”

“But as governor, I will make clear the impact of this bill on Virginia, and the more that governors do that nationwide, maybe we will see some movement to repeal or move away from the most dangerous aspects of this bill.”

How would you make housing more affordable?

“The biggest issue I hear about in every corner of Virginia has been the issue of affordability. At the state level, as governor, there’s not a lot I can do to impact grocery prices, but when it comes to the housing market, there’s a lot you can do.”

“In some cases, it’s a question of removing hurdles to increase supply. I’ve talked to everyone from realtors to developers who work in the affordable housing space, and there are some regulations at the state level that slow down construction.”

“Many regulations exist for a reason, but there may be duplicates that are slowing things down. We’ll dig into some of those. Some of our communities are doing good work increasing the supply of affordable housing. Using the office of the governor to expand on those efforts is important.”

“Then we’ve got to preserve and protect affordable housing where it already exists and not let it be sold and converted out of affordable housing.”

How will you defend public schools?

“My opponent (Earle-Sears) has long supported defunding public education, and that’s really what vouchers are. I absolutely oppose pulling public dollars out of public schools.”

“Defunding public schools is based on this lie that there are all these other options—that you can just send kids to this private school or that private school. For many families, public school is the only option in their community. There are no private schools or other schools nearby.”

“Every dollar that we are investing in our public schools is strengthening our economy and strengthening our communities.”

“Earle-Sears is trying to defund public schools under euphemisms like school choice and vouchers. I oppose school vouchers completely.”

How will you stop Virginians’ increasing energy bills?

“In parts of Virginia, especially the Southwest, we’ve seen tremendous increases in energy costs—up over 40% in the past five years. We’ve got the largest offshore wind installation in the country—the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project—being constructed off the shore of Virginia Beach.”

“It’s something that many Virginians are very proud of, and it should begin generating energy by January. But tariffs have already reportedly projected an increase of $500 million in its cost to the developer Dominion Energy.”

“This nation-leading offshore wind project is critical for providing more affordable, reliable energy across the Commonwealth. If the Trump administration attempts to interfere with a project that has already been approved, permitted, is under construction, and expected to start supplying energy in early 2026, as governor I will work with the attorney general to stand up for Virginia’s affordable energy supply.”

How will you handle Trump’s attacks on Virginia’s universities?

“My husband and I are both UVA (University of Virginia) grads, and the fact that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would so aggressively go after UVA is an attack on academic freedom.”

“It’s also an attack on a major driver of Virginia’s economy. There’s an estimated $4.5 billion in economic impact that the university has every year. Plus, our public universities are so strong, they attract students from all over the world, who stay and start businesses.”

“The DOJ continues to lob allegations at UVA (that the university hasn’t dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion programs) and now at George Mason University as well.”

“But we see that the governor, our attorney general (Republican Jason Miyares), and my opponent, the lieutenant governor, have continued to stay silent on these attacks on Virginia’s universities.”

How do you feel about Trump’s use of force in America’s cities?

“For many of the folks in Northern Virginia, DC is their city. Many of them work in Washington, and I’ve had people tell me how upsetting it is to see the National Guard or FBI agents in the streets.”

“FBI agents should be investigating terrorism, kidnappings, narcotics, and money laundering cases, and now they’re standing on the side of the streets in a kind of performative way.”

“They’re there because that’s what the new FBI director (Kash Patel) thinks will appease the president. It’s outrageous. It’s a scary time, and there’s a lot of work to do to keep the American people safe.”

“The (Washington DC) Metropolitan Police Department is a good department. Let them do their job of policing DC and let the FBI run hard against terrorism.”

“My worry is that they’re looking at Trump’s created threats of the day at the expense of terrorist threats.”

The election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Find your voting options here.