https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=4715391&post_id=197277183&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6uesvl&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0MTM4NzYxNDUsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE5NzI3NzE4MywiaWF0IjoxNzc4NTgwODIxLCJleHAiOjE3ODExNzI4MjEsImlzcyI6InB1Yi00NzE1MzkxIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.CLV-SZ_awkrpiPShzSeK4YLYhkaToGZLp8UAabU_HNU BY: ELIANA JONSHON May 12 2026 Abigail Spanberger (Win McNamee/Getty Images) It was just months ago when “moderate” Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger, boosted by fawning media profiles, swept into office vowing she would “focus relentlessly” on “lower costs.” That was then. “Five months into her term,” we write, “Spanberger’s first big move as governor was a nakedly unconstitutional, highly partisan, and shockingly incompetent gerrymandering effort that was struck down on Friday by the Virginia Supreme Court in an opinion written by Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, an appointee of that crazy right-wing Republican… Mark Warner. That came, of course, after the straight-talkin’ governor told voters on the campaign trail she had ‘no plans to redistrict Virginia.’” Most lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, have been explicit about the partisan aims of their redistricting efforts. Not in Virginia. “Led by Spanberger, Senate president Louise Lucas (D.), and former president Barack Obama, they bullshitted voters with talk of saving democracy, trampled the constitution, and counted on the court to cower in the face of a referendum. ‘We made a promise to level the playing field, and today we’re keeping our promise,’ Lucas said when she unveiled a new map that would have shoved 47 percent of Virginia voters into districts represented by 9 percent of the would-be delegation. ‘Free and fair elections are under attack,’ Obama declared.” They were laughed out of court. “Consider it a cautionary tale the next time you read, and read, and read again about a new Democrat darling who will save the Republic through sheer grit and ruthless competence. Our readers will, of course, already know better.” READ MORE: Abigail Spanberger’s Faceplant