With a supermajority in the House of Delegates, control of the state Senate, and Abigail Spanberger occupying the governor's office, Virginia Democrats are wasting no time in their attempts to lurch the state to the left. But a new survey of Virginia voters shows that, while a majority are optimistic about Spanberger's term as governor, many of the Democrats' plans for the state are far less popular.
The 2026 State of the Commonwealth poll conducted by Christopher Newport University found 60% of respondents are optimistic about Spanberger as governor, and several of the policies that Democrats are promoting have even more support:
- Retail marijuana sale
- Support — 60%
- Limits on data centers
- Support prohibiting data centers from being located near a national park, state park, or historically significant site — 69%
- Support requiring a site assessment, looking into the impact on water usage, emissions, and agriculture — 86%
- $15 an hour minimum wage by 2028
- Support/strongly support — 78%
- Requiring Virginia employers to provide some type of paid sick leave
- Support/strongly support — 80%
- Provision of up to 12 weeks of paid family & medical leave
- Support/strongly support — 84%
- Felon re-enfranchisement after completed prison sentence
- Support/strongly support — 64%
Virginia voters are decidedly less enthusiastic about the Demcorats' effort to redraw the state's congressional maps and give them a 10-1 majority. Just 51% support the effort, within the poll's margin of error, with 43% opposed and 7% undecided. That effort hit a roadblock on Tuesday when a Tazewell County judge ruled the effort violates state law, but it will ultimately be up to the Virginia Supreme Court (and perhaps SCOTUS as well) to determine whether a vote can be held this spring to change the state constitution and allow for partisan gerrymandering.
The news is just as bad for Democrats when it comes to their expansive gun control agenda. Just 50% say they want to see the state's gun laws get more restrictive, and my guess is the vast majority of voters have no idea what all the Democrats are proposing; a permit-to-purchase bill that will raise the cost of buying a firearm by hundreds of dollars and require mandated training (along with a potential 45 day waiting period), bans on possessing commonly owned ammunition magazines that can hold more than ten rounds, prohibiting the sale of many commonly owned rifles, pistols, and shotguns, expanding the state's "red flag" law, and ending the reciprocity agreements with many states, which will make it impossible for Virginians near the borders of West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina to legally bear arms when they cross state lines.
As more voters become aware of the specifics of these gun control bills, I expect opposition to grow; not just among independents and Republicans, but among at least some lefty voters as well. There's already a group of liberal gun owners who are holding their own Lobby Day rally in opposition to the Democrats' gun control package at the state capitol in early February, and while I don't think they're going to see more than a few dozen people there genuinely does seem to be a growing interest in not only exercising but defending the Second Amendment from government overreach on the left.
It's nowhere close to a majority of Democrats, to be sure, but in this case every voice matters. Virginia holds its next legislative elections in 2027, and this time the Senate will be up for grabs as well as the House. I suspect that Democrats representing more rural parts of the state will still vote in favor of at least some gun control measures, but with enough pressure from constituents they might not support the entire slate of Second Amendment infringements that are being imposed.
What about Spanberger? Honestly, I don't know. She's clearly in the pocket of the gun control lobby, and despite her stated support for the Second Amendment she's already back bans on "assault firearms" and several other gun control measures. Since governors in Virginia can only serve on term, though, Spanberger also already has her eye on higher office; maybe a Senate run, or perhaps taking a shot at the White House itself. If she's still planning on running as a supposed moderate and there's a large amount of opposition to the slate of gun control bills, she may decide to strategically veto a couple of gun control bills that get to her desk. I doubt that will include big ticket items like the gun and magazine ban or permit-to-purchase legislation, but Virginia gun owners do have the opportunity to do some damage to the onslaught of gun control bills before they become bad laws that will be challenged in court.
I'll admit that this is a very optimistic scenario, but it beats just giving up and sitting on the couch. I'd rather speak up and fight for my rights than throw up my hands in surrender, even if the odds are against me. With Virginians' support for gun control a 50-50 proposition, I think it's well worth the effort to try to move that needle in the direction of support for the Second Amendment.
