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A conservative political group has launched a scathing new ad in the Virginia governor’s race aimed at forcing Democrat Abigail Spanberger to publicly clarify her position on transgender policies, an issue the group says she has avoided discussing as the race enters its final stretch.
The video, released by Restoration of America PAC, a network of various conservative organizations, paints the former congresswoman as a radical who is putting the safety of children at risk by being in favor of sex changes for kids and allowing biological boys to use girls’ locker rooms.
“Abigail Spanberger is as extreme as it gets,” the narrator says to ominous music.
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“She’d allow boys to play girls sports and shower in girls locker rooms … naked. Worse? She’s apparently all in on horrifying gender mutilation reversal and irreversible sterilization of children.”
Spanberger, a former CIA officer, is facing off against Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in one of only two governor races in the U.S. this November. The face-offs are viewed as political bellwethers ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with former President Barack Obama endorsing Spanberger this week. Most polls indicated Spanberger enjoying a lead over Earle-Sears.
“Spanberger refuses to answer questions about this because she knows how evil it is,” the ad continues. “Most of the civilized world bans it, and Spanberger’s silence enables the horror.”
The 30-second spot is running on television and digital platforms across Virginia as part of a $3.3 million statewide buy, according to the PAC.
The group says Spanberger has been ducking the issue on the campaign trail and that the ad’s goal is to force her hand while highlighting what it calls her “pro-trans record” in Congress.
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Spanberger voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act in 2023, a bill aimed at restricting transgender women and girls from competing in female sports categories.
She also co-sponsored the Equality Act in 2019, 2021 and 2023. The legislation aimed to include gender identity and sexual orientation as a protected class, a move critics say would have required public schools and facilities to allow transgender girls to use girls’ restrooms and compete in female sports.
Earle-Sears has also made the issue a focal point on the campaign trail and released her own ad last month targeting what she calls Spanberger’s positions.
Local media pressed her directly about allowing transgender women in girls sports and using girls bathrooms last month.
“I think it’s important that we have parents and teachers and administrators making decisions … based on the age of children, based on the type of sport, based on competitiveness,” Spanberger told WSET last month.
Spanberger’s campaign did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment about her position on transgender policies or about the new ad targeting her.
Doug Truax, the founder and CEO of Restoration of America PAC, slammed Spanberger’s reluctance to discuss the issue, calling it one that could decide the race.
“She’s not running for library board in some town. She wants to be governor of Virginia,” Truax told Fox Digital in a video interview. “She’s taken some pretty exacting stances on child mutilation, and she’s been perfectly fine with it.
“She’s got to make a stand on this,” Truax said. “If she doesn’t, then it just means she agrees with it.”
The scandal surrounding Democrat attorney general nominee Jay Jones has also rocked the race after texts surfaced depicting him envisioning the murder of a GOP leader and his children.
Truax said Spanberger’s voting record makes her position “very clear” despite what he called efforts by her campaign team to avoid the topic.
“Her political people are saying, ‘Don’t talk about it,’” he said. “But she can’t hide. The people of Virginia deserve to know where she stands.”
He said the issue is reaching a “boiling point” among parents and grandparents nationwide.
“Gender-affirming care is code for mutilating kids,” he said. “It’s horrific. We’ll look back on this in a decade and ask what was going on.”
He also credited President Donald Trump’s re-election with emboldening voters who oppose gender policies to fight back against the woke culture.
“They don’t want guys in girls sports or locker rooms,” he said. “They know this is wrong, and they’re tired of being told otherwise.
“There was a window of time when people knew what the right thing to do was but weren’t saying it out loud,” Truax said. “Now, they’re voting that way.”
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