RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger addressed the media on Monday to mark her 100th day in office.
She began her remarks by addressing affordability, calling it the "most pressing challenge facing our friends and neighbors today."
"We've done real work to tackle the most pressing challenge facing our friends and neighbors today, the high cost of living. Federal economic policies are raising costs and squeezing Virginians," Spanberger said. "Last year, Virginia's federal workforce was under attack because of reckless DOGE cuts. Now, the so called 'Big Beautiful Bill' is threatening rural health care costs and availability across the board. Farmers have suffered because of federal tariff policies, and some have lost entire markets for their products. The list goes on and on, and that's exactly why I have made affordability and lowering costs the cornerstone of my administration."
The governor noted that her entire "Affordable Virginia" agenda, which was unveiled prior to her inauguration, is now law.
"We are continuing to provide practical, tangible solutions for people in every corner of the Commonwealth," she said. "We're stopping predatory middlemen from hiking up prices on prescription drugs. We're capping the cost of insulin at $35. We're making long term investments in clean energy and weatherization to keep utility costs down. We're incentivizing new home construction and affordable housing in Virginia and across all localities. Virginia is now the first state in the south to create a paid family leave, paid family medical leave program, and we are finally raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour."
Spanberger said her administration has focused on keeping Virginia's reputation as a "great place to start or expand a business."
"We've announced more than $4.7 billion in new business investments across our Commonwealth and more than 3,000 new jobs, and there is a lot more to come. We've got some deals in the works that I will be excited to tell you about soon," Spanberger said.
Spanberger also addressed the interest in her governing philosophy with the following comments:
"When we work together, Virginia succeeds. When we focus on getting things done, it is good for Virginians," she said. "That is why I'm focusing on things that we can all come together to work on, things like improving our schools, supporting our first responders and making sure good paying jobs are available in every corner of our Commonwealth. These, frankly, aren't hyper-partisan issues. We know that there's a lot that's broken in our political system in Washington, but Virginia is not that way. It's a joy for me to do this work."
When asked for her thoughts on the current legal challenges regarding the redistricting referendum, Spanberger noted the special election's "extraordinary turnout."
"I respect the separation of powers, but what I will say is what we witnessed in our election last week was more than 3 million Virginians who participated in an election cast their vote for and against the referendum. That's extraordinary turnout for a special election in April, and certainly my gratitude goes to all those who carried out that election," she said. "In addition to the 3 million Virginians who voted in that election, there are so many others who canvassed and knocked doors and made phone calls and advocated for a position on this referendum choice that they believed in. And so as the court continues to weigh the discussions this morning, my hope is that they will recognize just how seriously and how valid more than 3 million Virginians knew that election to be."
