A very common sight in the modern, hyper-partisan political climate is that of hecklers.
In 2026, it’s become very common to see both the left and right heckled in public forums.
What’s not nearly as common? Having the majority of the audience drown you out with full-throated booing (though that’s certainly not unheard of).
Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger had the indignity of experiencing such a phenomenon recently in what could be a foreboding sign for her political future.
According to local ABC station WSET-TV, Spanberger made an appearance at the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, Virginia.
The convention, held through the week and ending Saturday, describes itself as “the World’s oldest and largest Old Fiddlers’ Convention.”
And it turns out that many of those Old Fiddler fans were not Spanberger fans.
While WSET described the response to Spanberger as “mixed,” video of the evidence suggested that a vocal majority of the audience seemed none too pleased with the Democratic governor.
You can view a video of that raucous response to Spanberger for yourself, and determine how “mixed” it actually was:
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For some Republican delegates in attendance, the booing came as no surprise.
“She campaigned, and she was asked about doing a mid-decade redistrict to grab power and take voices away from people outside of Northern Virginia. She said she wouldn’t do it and then she led the charge,” one delegate told WSET.
“If you think about the affordability agenda that has been run on and that she has championed, where are the results of that? And we know the millions of dollars spent trying to disenfranchise the exact individuals that she is now trying to come and pander,” another delegate said.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, while Spanberger acknowledged attending the event, she ignored the booing while addressing the convention on social media.
By that same token, however, it is worth noting that, at least according to Spanberger’s social media post, there did appear to be some conventiongoers who were happy to see her:
I’m in Galax to join the Old Fiddlers’ Convention for its 90th annual celebration. Great food, great music, and great community. pic.twitter.com/iAYph66eW4
— Governor Abigail Spanberger (@GovernorVA) August 8, 2026
While social media was awash with debate about Spanberger’s mixed reception (some felt that Spanberger deserved the vitriol, others were happy with her appearance), the Virginia governor has had some real PR battles since being elected in November 2025.
Notably, one of the bigger points of contention during Spanberger’s tenure has been her stance on making Virginia a sanctuary state.
But whereas immigration has become a partisan issue, Spanberger has taken flak from Democrat voters, as well.
Chief among those complaints is that while Spanberger campaigned on “affordability,” she has gotten the ball rolling on that by moving forward with raising taxes — much to the chagrin of voters both red and blue.
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