Dear Friends and Virginians:

A great advantage of being out of power is that you can speak honestly about what’s going on — and not care who’s offended.

Abigail Spanberger served in Congress and ran for Governor as a moderate Democrat, standing apart from the AOC-Mandani socialist wing. By running on that brand (and largely avoiding actual issues), she won with 57% of the vote.

Then the 2026 session convened with Democrats holding all levers of power — and Spanberger was faced with a constitutional measure designed to “temporarily” dilute the votes of rural Virginians. Based on money and demographics, the referendum was sure to pass — and just as sure to enrage the 48.5% who were being politically erased.

So much for bipartisanship.  Predictably, her popularity drops.

At that point, the Governor had two options:  pull a “Northam” and simply sign every Democratic bill or actually govern like a leader. Thankfully she (mostly) chose the latter.

In the past two weeks, the Governor has vetoed multiple flawed bills which passed on a party-line vote: creating a retail marijuana market, mandating collective bargaining for local governments, and making “menopause” a protected category under the VA Human Rights Act (yes, really).

Of course, the Governor did not get them all right: she allowed the usual slew of anti-Second Amendment bills along with a “paid leave” bill which is delayed until 2028, so voters won’t learn until after the next Assembly election that they’re taking home less pay — so others can get 12 weeks of paid time off.

The bottom line is not that the Governor got everything right … it’s that she did her own thing.   Good for her.

Our leadership (not our nation) is divided into Trump loyalists on the “R” side and left wing purists on the “D” side. Very few with courage. Look no further than Seattle or San Francisco to see what happens when one-party control becomes the rule. People leave.

Four years is a surprisingly short time, but I think the Governor let folks know that she’s still the boss.

And that’s ok.

JCP Notes:  A Happy Memorial Day for everyone. Filed our brief on Thursday with the VA Supreme Court in support of the American Battlefield Trust in the Manassas Battlefield case. Will report back when we get a result.

The Virginia Cardinals played the Alexandria Roosters last Sunday as the warm-up for the Old Glory RFC match at George Mason University.  We didn’t win — but that’s ok.  Here’s a photo of the teams after the match.

Finally, I’m speaking in Richmond on Tuesday, May 26, from 6-8 pm to the Richmond Churchill Society [Join the event]. If you’re around, please stop by for a drink.  

Peace,

Chap