A legislative watchdog newly created to blow the whistle on liberals hiding as moderates today called out Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger as a “Democratic Socialist” with a voting record that aligns with members of the far-left House “squad.”
While the former House member has portrayed herself as a centrist Democrat in the race, the Institute for Legislative Advocacy today shared with Washington Secrets a score that placed her on the far Left with votes to boost spending and lower penalties for violent criminals.
The advocacy group, a new arm of the Institute for Legislative Analysis, compared Spanberger to other House Democrats and found some votes to the left of notable progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
“A vote record analysis conducted by the Institute for Legislative Analysis – the most comprehensive ever performed on the U.S. Congress – reveals this lawmaker holds ‘Democratic Socialist’ views with an ideological rating of 13.75 on a 100 point scale,” said the report card.
🚨WATCH: Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger REFUSED to answer my question on does she support biological males using female locker rooms and bathrooms and competing in women’s sports. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Ie9M71YjOw
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) September 19, 2025
Spanberger served in Congress from 2019 to 2025. She has led Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, in the off-year election.
She has played up her resume in the campaign, focusing on her time working at the CIA. She has also described herself as a proponent of bipartisanship in the House.
🚨 NEW AD: When the Left calls for rage, everything burns and people get hurt.
But Virginia is for lovers—not rage. Vote to keep it that way. pic.twitter.com/UO39sYlo9U
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) September 29, 2025
Earle-Sears has used ads to portray Spanberger as a liberal supporter of the woke agenda and public school transgender policies, which the Democrat has called lies. Media covering the election haven’t had much success nailing down her politics.
Spanberger has returned fire by portraying Earle-Sears as a Trump-aligned right-winger. In her ads, she says Earle-Sears “is so far right she’s wrong for Virginia.”
Under the Trump-@winwithwinsome economy, Virginians pay more, so billionaires can pay less. That’s just wrong. pic.twitter.com/vaV6FNRaJ6
— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) September 23, 2025
The institute’s political arm hopes to shed light on candidates’ past liberal voting records, and Spanberger was its first target.
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“Unfortunately, the liberal media has largely succeeded in covering up Spanberger’s radical record,” said Ryan McGowan, CEO of the Institute for Legislative Advocacy. “No true moderate could score this far left — her voting record is more extreme than even the far-left progressives she pretends to distance herself from. If anything, Spanberger should be running in California or Massachusetts, certainly not Virginia,” he added.
In a handful of vote analyses provided to Washington Secrets, Spanberger was shown to support burdensome federal regulations and favor efforts to outlaw gas-powered vehicles.
