It's been fairly smooth sailing so for Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat candidate for governor in Virginia, but she has entered some seriously choppy waters of her own making this week. Spanberger, who is going head-to-head with Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, finally was asked some hard questions by the media and she wiffed big time.
Up until now, Spanberger, in true Democrat fashion, has largely avoided media that is not extremely friendly to her (which is most media in the commonwealth). She's kept a low profile for such a high-profile race, visiting areas of the state that are also friendly to her. But, it was inevitable that her campaign would eventually have to face the hot-button issue facing Northern Virginia (NoVA), one of her electoral strongholds, right now: should biological males be allowed to use the girls bathrooms and locker rooms at the state's public schools?
Winsome Earle-Sears' Campaign Needs a Boost—Will Donald Trump Give Her One?
She—and her campaign staff—totally blew it. Here's what happened.
Nick Minock, a reporter from the DC-area ABC affiliate who has been excellent at holding local school systems and administrators accountable for their actions, sent a list of questions to Spanberger's campaign, seeking to clarify her position on boys using girls bathrooms.
The topic is sure to be a big issue on the campaign this year after the U.S. Department of Education found several NoVA school systems in violation of Title IX. Meaning, these school systems were determined to be violating the rights of girls by forcing them to share school bathrooms and locker rooms with biological males. (And vice versa in one Title IX case pending in Loudoun County.) Some of the school systems, including Loudoun, refuse to comply with federal standards and intend to wage war with the Trump administration.
Here's what Minock asked Spanberger:
- Does Spanberger believe the five school districts should defend and keep their existing transgender and non-binary bathroom and locker room policies?
- Does Spanberger support policies that allow students the option to use bathrooms and locker rooms at K-12 schools based on students’ chosen gender identity, not their sex at birth?
- If the federal government stops sending federal funds to the five school districts because of these policies, does Spanberger think the Virginia General Assembly should increase funding for the school divisions to make up the gap?
- Does Abigail Spanberger support biological males competing in women’s sports?
Here's what her campaign came back with: "Abigail is a mom of three kids in Virginia public schools — the safety of Virginia’s kids is Abigail’s top priority, and she believes that parents have the right to make decisions about what is best for their children."
That's what we call a "non-answer," kids. According to Minock, he's heard from some Democrats that not only did Spanberger fail to address the issue, her campaign also seemed to frame transgender students as dangerous. That won't go over well with the far-left voters of Virginia.
Winsome Earle-Sears, by contrast, has been very consistent with her view that students must use the bathroom that corresponds to their biological sex. In a press release, her campaign called out Spanberger for failing to protect girls:
“How long will it take Abigail Spanberger to decide if she wants to continue kowtowing to the dangerous, extreme left in her party?” said Press Secretary Peyton Vogel. “For Virginia parents, it’s far too long. For Winsome Earle-Sears, the answer is easy—protect our girls and make student safety a priority. Our children always come first.”
Spanberger's bad week got worse on Wednesday following the revelation that she had pocketed $50,000 in campaign donations from a businessman who is a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Which is weird since Virginia law "forbids foreign nationals from making political contributions, and Chinese law typically bans CCP members from holding foreign citizenship or permanent residency."
Abigail Spanberger may have hoped to coast through this race on platitudes and softball interviews, but the cracks are showing. With girls’ safety on the line and foreign cash in her coffers, Virginians are starting to wonder: if this is how she handles pressure now, how hard would she crash out as governor?
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to dismantle the Department of Education and ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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