Is This Why Abigail Spanberger’s Approval Ratings Are in the Toilet?

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s approval ratings continue to decline, now in the mid-40s. She’s only six months into her term. The bottom has fallen out with independent voters, and data centers might play a big role in her falling standings. Spanberger advocated for tax breaks for data centers, which didn’t help her cause (via WJLA):

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s approval rating is underwater six months into her term – which is unusual for a governor.

A VCU poll shows 44% of registered voters approve of the job she’s doing and 47% disapprove. pic.twitter.com/he5nDQ7q3o

— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) July 17, 2026

Nearly half of registered voters in Virginia believe the commonwealth is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new Virginia Commonwealth University poll. The survey also finds that Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger’s approval rating is underwater, with 47% disapproving and only 44% approving of her job performance.

It’s not normal for a new governor to have numbers like these just six months into the administration. Only 21 percent of independent voters in Virginia said the commonwealth is heading in the right direction, according to the VCU poll.

UVA Political Scientist Larry Sabato tells 7News the governor didn’t do herself any favors battling with Senate Democrats over tax breaks for data centers.

But — he adds – the real problem for the administration is that voters feel the governor is failing to deliver on “affordability.”
 […]

On data centers, the VCU poll read, “Virginia has seen significant growth in data centers in recent years, and they were a major focus of this year’s budget standoff between the House of Delegates and Senate. Prior to the poll, three-quarters of registered voters in Virginia (76%) said they had heard or read about data centers in the commonwealth. About 8 in 10 registered voters (81%) support requiring data centers to pay additional fees to offset increased electricity demand associated with their operations. Support is high across political affiliations, with Democrats (88%) and independent voters (75%) more likely than Republicans (69%) to support the requirement. A significant majority of registered voters (72%) oppose allowing data centers to receive a sales tax exemption as an incentive for locating in Virginia, including nearly half (49%) who strongly oppose the proposal. Opposition crosses party lines, with 73% of Democrats, 69% of Republicans and 61% of independent voters opposing the exemption.”

This issue will be a main challenge for both parties to address. Despite what some think tanks have said, data centers will raise residents’ electrical bills. They’re eyesores, noisy, eminent domain is being used to build them, and they’re damaging power grids that aren’t designed to handle this kind of stress. 

She’s not a good politician, and combined with domestic issues, she’s likely going to continue to sink her approval ratings. 

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