Leftist Darling Abigail Spanberger Trounced After Announcing Jobs as Hers When The Paper Trail Say Otherwise

Glenn Youngkin spent four years turning Virginia into a business magnet.

Abigail Spanberger spent three months erasing his name from everything he built.

Now AstraZeneca’s CEO is on record thanking Glenn Youngkin by name – and Spanberger is holding a pen.

The Heist That Wasn’t Hidden

Spanberger sent out a triumphant press release on April 6 claiming she had signed bipartisan legislation welcoming 3,250 new jobs and $7.1 billion in business investment to Virginia.

Four companies: Avio USA, Hitachi Energy, Eli Lilly, and AstraZeneca.

All four announced their investments in Virginia while Glenn Youngkin was still governor.

ABC affiliate reporter Nick Minock spotted it immediately and posted the receipts on X – screenshots of every original announcement, every press release, every quote from Youngkin welcoming each company to the Commonwealth.

AstraZeneca’s CEO specifically thanked Youngkin and his team for their “energy and vision,” crediting them with moving at “incredible speed to build a better future for this Commonwealth and the American people.”

Hitachi Energy said its Virginia expansion came “with the support of Governor Youngkin” – and the Trump Administration’s White House AI Action Plan.

Eli Lilly announced its Goochland County investment in September 2025.

Avio USA chose Virginia for its advanced rocket motor manufacturing facility in November 2025.

Spanberger took office January 17, 2026.

She signed some incentive legislation in April and issued a press release.

That’s the whole contribution.

Youngkin’s Team Didn’t Miss a Beat

Youngkin’s spokesman Justin Discigil made sure everyone understood what actually happened.

“The last three months have been nothing but horrible news for Virginians as Abigail Spanberger broke every single promise she made on the campaign trail,” Discigil told the Washington Free Beacon.

Then came the line that will follow her for years: “Governor Youngkin is happy that Virginians are being reminded of some good news, even if it means Gov. Spanberger taking credit for the economic deals he secured for the Commonwealth.”

That’s not a political attack. That’s a factual summary.

One conservative commentator put it plainly: “She inherited the press release. Youngkin landed the whales.”

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Here’s what makes this grab especially brazen.

Spanberger is already the least popular Virginia governor since the 1990s – and she’s only been in office three months.

The Washington Post-Schar School poll released the same day as her jobs announcement put her approval at 47 percent with 46 percent disapproving. Political scientist Larry Sabato called the drop “stunning.” That’s 13 points below the average for Virginia governors in Post polling going back to 1994.

Youngkin ended his term at 50 percent approval – higher than Spanberger’s number the day she announced “her” jobs.

Forty-one percent of Virginia voters believe Spanberger’s policies will make the state less affordable. Only 31 percent think she’ll make it more affordable. Independents – the voters who delivered her that 15-point landslide – are breaking sharply against her.

She ran as a moderate. She governed like a socialist Democrat. She barred Virginia from cooperating with ICE, endorsed a gerrymandering scheme she once publicly opposed, and watched Fairfax County’s murder rate climb.

The Youngkin economic wins she’s now claiming credit for were built on four years of competitive tax rates, business-friendly regulation, and a governor who personally courted major employers and delivered.

The companies said so themselves. In writing. With Youngkin’s name on every announcement.

Abigail Spanberger didn’t build that. She just signed the thank you card.

Sources:

• Anthony Iafrate, “Abigail Spanberger Brags About Bringing Jobs To Virginia — There’s Just One Problem,” Daily Caller News Foundation, April 8, 2026.
• “Abigail Spanberger Takes Credit for $7.1 Billion in Business Investments Secured by GOP Predecessor Glenn Youngkin,” Washington Free Beacon, April 9, 2026.
• “Spanberger Rolls Out ‘New’ Virginia Investments, Except They Aren’t Actually New,” Daily Wire, April 8, 2026.
• “Glenn Youngkin Gets Last Laugh After Spanberger Jobs Announcement Doesn’t Go According to Plan,” RedState, April 8, 2026.
• Charles Creitz, “Virginia Gov Spanberger hits record-low job approval rating, poll finds,” Fox News, April 7, 2026.
• “Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s drop in approval rating ‘stunning’: Larry Sabato,” The Hill, April 8, 2026.