Abigail Spanberger was asked a yes or no question: Does she support biological boys playing in girls’ sports and using girls’ bathrooms? Instead, the Democratic Virginia gubernatorial hopeful gave a rambling answer before abruptly discussing rising costs.
“Do you support trans women playing in girls’ sports and being in girls’ restrooms?” ABC 13’s Alexia Stanbridge asked Spanberger on Tuesday. The reporter pointed to an ad by Spanberger’s opponent, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, that accuses the Democrat of supporting biological boys in girls’ locker rooms.
“In Virginia, we previously, until very recently, had a process in place where on an individual, one-by-one basis, schools, parents, principals, coaches, were making decisions based on fairness, competitiveness, and safety,” Spanberger said. She spoke about the old policy at length before finally saying she thought that process was “working.”
Then she suddenly pivoted and started attacking Earle-Sears.
“What you don’t see my opponent talking about is her plan to actually lower costs, to address the issues that I am hearing about everywhere I go from families, from parents,” Spanberger said. “How do we ensure that we are lowering costs in health care, housing, and energy,” she added before pivoting to issues regarding Virginia’s academic achievement.
Stanbridge remained unsatisfied—or confused—by Spanberger’s response and pressed her on the transgender question.
“I just want to make sure that I actually understand,” she said. “Would you support a bill that allowed this if it landed on your desk?”
“I would support a bill that would put clear provisions in place that provide a lot of local ability for input,” Spanberger responded. She said she believes schools should continue to “take individual circumstances and individual communities into account,” such as the age of the transgender student and their sport.
The issue has been a thorn in Spanberger’s side. Just a few days earlier, she had refused to answer a similar question clearly and instead attacked President Donald Trump.
“But ultimately, the real impact here is, once again, it is the Trump administration taking dollars away from Virginia,” Spanberger told ABC-WJLA’s Nick Minock. Minock pressed her, but Spanberger refused to answer and eventually fled.
The Trump administration warned five Virginia school districts that they could lose federal funding over their transgender policies, arguing that they violate Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination.
