Virginia governor’s approval rating is split, poll shows

A poll conducted by George Mason University shows Virginians almost evenly split on Gov. Abigail Spanberger‘s job performance early in her term.

The poll, conducted for The Washington Post by the GMU Schar School of Policy & Government, shows Spanberger with a difference of 1% between her approval rating (47%) and disapproval (46%). Drilling down further, the poll found that 29% of the respondents approve “strongly” of her, compared to 38% disapproving “strongly” of her.

Results of the poll were released April 6 by both The Post and GMU.

Spanberger, a former Virginia congressional representative, was elected last November as the first woman to hold the state’s highest elective office. She took office Jan. 17 as part of the Democratic trifecta of controlling the Executive Mansion and both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.

Intraparty dissention

The governor’s relationship with the Assembly has been simultaneously cooperative and political polarizing. Most of her administration’s key initiatives have followed party lines, in particular the upcoming April 21 referendum on temporarily redistricting Virginia to possibly increase Democratic control from six of the 11 House of Representatives seats to as much as 10.

But Spanberger is also facing some in-party strain, particularly with state Senate Democratic leadership over the 2026-27 biennium budget that still has not been approved by the Assembly.

The key issue appears to be funding for Virginia’s burgeoning data center industry. The House and Senate versions of budget legislation differ sharply, with the Senate’s version wanting a $1.6 billion industry tax exemption eliminated and the House’s version keeping it.

Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, chairs the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee. In an April 2 post on her X account, Lucas said she will be “standing like a brick wall” in favor of dropping the exemption when the Assembly reconvenes April 23 in Richmond.

To no surprise, the partisanship showed up in the poll results. Eighty percent of the respondents who identified as Democrats strongly supported Spanberger while 90% of GOP-identifying responents disapproved of her.

Close margin on referendum

On the redistricting referendum, 52% of those polled said they support passage if voting were held today. Almost three of every four (72%) said they felt it would help Democrats win more seats in the upcoming November midterm elections, while 8% said it would help Republicans and 15% said they did not think it would make a difference.

Early voting for the referendum ends April 18.

The poll was taken March 26-31 and had 1,101 randomly selected Virginians from across the commonwealth. The margin of error was 3.5%.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) has won numerous awards during his 40-year journalism career. A Petersburg native, Bill is a 1984 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond with a degree in mass communications. He specializes in coverage of breaking news, crime, government, and local/state/national politics. He is an avid history buff and a lifelong Washington Commanders fan. Reach him at [email protected] with news tips and story suggestions.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Virginia governor‘s approval rating is split, poll shows
Reporting by Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index / The Progress-Index
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect