Virginia Democrats Destroy State in Just Five Steps
Virginia's Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger has reversed economic gains made under Republican leadership with $37 billion in new taxes, according to former Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Jason Miyares, who served as Virginia’s Attorney General from 2022 to 2026 alongside Governor Glenn Youngkin, has outlined what he describes as a systematic dismantling of the Commonwealth’s recent economic and public safety achievements through five destructive policy decisions.
When Republicans took office in 2022, Virginia ranked 46th nationally in post-COVID job creation, with schools among the last to reopen in the country. The murder rate had hit a 20-year peak, fentanyl deaths were at record levels, and for the first time in a century, Virginia experienced eight consecutive years of net population loss as residents and businesses departed.
Conservative Leadership Delivered Results
Under Youngkin’s administration, Virginia’s economic trajectory reversed dramatically. The state climbed from near the bottom to the top five in job creation. Fiscal discipline produced budget surpluses annually while delivering over 9 billion dollars in tax relief to Virginians.
New business investment totaling more than 156 billion dollars flowed into the Commonwealth, exceeding the combined total under the previous six governors. The murder rate declined, and Virginia led the nation in reducing drug overdose deaths by supporting rather than undermining law enforcement.
Democrats Reverse Course on Economic Growth
Miyares argues that Spanberger has become one of the least popular governors in modern Virginia history after just over half a year in office. Despite inheriting a budget surplus, Virginia Democrats have proposed more than 37 billion dollars in new taxes in 2026, according to one analysis.
The Democratic-controlled legislature has enacted a sweeping payroll tax and carbon tax. New regulatory burdens have increased the effective cost of hiring in Virginia by 22.5 percent, according to estimates from the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Major employers including Boeing and Amazon have announced closures or layoffs in the Commonwealth under Spanberger’s watch.
Energy Policy Threatens Reliability and Affordability
Virginia faces the challenge of doubling its baseload electricity capacity over the next decade to meet growing demand. Rather than expanding natural gas and nuclear energy, Spanberger is advancing what Miyares characterizes as an extreme green agenda centered on intermittent wind and solar power.
Democrats are forcing ratepayers to purchase renewable energy credits that generate no actual electricity, creating a de facto carbon tax costing Virginians hundreds of millions of dollars annually, with projections soon reaching 1 billion dollars or more per year.
Public Safety Compromised by Early Release Program
Under the Democrats’ Enhanced Earned Sentence Credits program, more than 9,000 convicted felons have been released early, some with decades remaining on their sentences. Nearly half have already been re-arrested.
As a former prosecutor, Miyares emphasizes that justice requires accountability through serving imposed sentences. Among Spanberger’s first official acts was ordering state law enforcement to cease cooperation with federal authorities on deporting violent illegal immigrants, including those convicted of rape and murder.
Right-to-Work Protections Under Attack
Virginia’s right-to-work law has been fundamental to attracting and retaining manufacturing jobs. While serving in Congress, Spanberger co-sponsored the PRO Act, which would have abolished right-to-work protections in Virginia and 26 other states.
As governor, she is positioned to sign mandatory collective bargaining legislation forcing all government employees into bargaining units, stripping local governments of flexibility and guaranteeing property tax increases. Chesterfield County alone estimates the cost to taxpayers at 200 million dollars annually. Extrapolated across Virginia, the fiscal impact would be devastating.
Constitutional Defiance on Redistricting
In 2020, Virginia voters amended the state constitution by a two-thirds supermajority to enact a nonpartisan redistricting process. Despite campaigning as a pragmatic leader transcending party politics, Spanberger supported what Miyares describes as an egregious partisan gerrymander under which 46 percent of Virginians who voted Republican in 2024 would have held approximately 9 percent of the state’s congressional seats.
Though the state Supreme Court struck down the redistricting scheme, Miyares contends the damage to Spanberger’s credibility was permanent.
With information from New York Post
