Henrico, VA – Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger on Monday endorsed a slate of policy priorities long pursued by her party during Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration. Specifically, she said she would sign legislation increasing the minimum wage — a bill that Youngkin has vetoed twice.
While outlining her priorities, she avoided the contentious right-to-work policy that has long plagued her Democratic predecessors on the campaign trail.
“If you elect me governor, I will sign the bill that will give you a pay raise,” Spanberger said. “We will raise the minimum wage to $15.”
Standing before a crowd of union supporters from across the commonwealth at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, Spanberger drew loud applause with nearly every line of her speech. Mentions of Youngkin, by contrast, were met with boos.
Spanberger also signaled support for proposals to expand paid family leave and strengthen collective bargaining rights, though she stopped short of pledging to sign any legislation.
“We have legislators pushing for paid family and medical leave because they know, they believe, they understand that Virginia workers deserve more peace of mind in a moment when everything else feels unstable.”
Youngkin vetoed legislation this year and last year that would have established paid family leave in Virginia.
Union Support
Republican gubernatorial nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears has voiced firm opposition to repealing Virginia’s long-standing right-to-work law, which prohibits labor unions from requiring workers to join as a condition of employment.
“As governor, I will fiercely protect Virginia’s Right to Work law,” Sears wrote in an op-ed in January.
Spanberger has not taken a public stance on right-to-work, but she spoke in support of unions on Tuesday.
“Throughout our country’s history, unions have made things possible,” Spanberger said. “Unions have not only built America’s middle class, but they’ve been a vehicle for economic stability, even when times are tough.”
Right-to-work has long been a complicated issue for Democratic candidates in Virginia. The more progressive Democrats want to repeal the law, but the moderates who want to appeal to a larger electorate and not alienate the business class often try to skirt the question.
2021 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe often avoided directly answering the question.
During his first term, which ended in 2018, he supported keeping the law on the books.
Facing a large field during the Democratic primary in 2021, candidates tried to gain ground on McAuliffe, who was the favorite and eventually won the nomination, by attacking him from the left.
He did not release a public stance on the issue, but a video surfaced of him saying he would sign the repeal if it reached his desk.
“If it came to my desk, sure I’d sign it,” McAuliffe said, noting the General Assembly would likely oppose the repeal. “But listen, you can’t get it through the House and Senate.”
Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, introduced legislation in 2021 to repeal right-to-work, but it was defeated 83-13 on the House floor.
Ralph Northam faced a similar problem during the 2017 primary when his opponent Tom Perriello supported repealing the law.
During a debate at the time, Northam said he would rather focus on issues that seem more achievable.
“I think rather than pick fights that we perhaps can’t win right now, we need to talk about how can we help labor,” Northam said.
Now, in 2025, Spanberger is following a similar strategy of avoiding a direct answer on right-to-work while also pledging to collaborate with General Assembly members to bolster collective bargaining rights for unions.
“I look forward to working with members of our General Assembly to make sure more Virginians can negotiate for the benefits and fair treatment that they earn through their work,” she said.
Spanberger did not take questions from the press at the event on Tuesday.
House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, spoke in support of Spanberger and unions on Tuesday.
“I went to the [Veteran Affairs] hospital recently, and I’m in there waiting on my appointment and folks are scared to talk to each other,” Scott said. “They are scared that if they say something, they are going to lose their job. If they complain, they may lose their job. That’s what happens when you don’t have union jobs. You have to have protection because these people can be bullies, and if you don’t have protection, they will run over you.”
The Sears campaign responded to the Spanberger event by criticizing her work in Congress.
“Abigail Spanberger has no business lecturing Virginians about the right to work or the cost of living,” said Peyton Vogel, a spokesperson for the Sears campaign. “She backed job-killing policies that raised costs and hurt Virginia families. Winsome trusts working families and small business owners to drive Virginia forward — not Washington politicians with a failed agenda.”
