BURSTVeteran Democratic strategist James Carville praised Virginia gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger’s messaging on crime, writing in an op-ed Tuesday that other Democrats should take a page out of her playbook.
In a Fox News opinion piece, Carville wrote that Democrats are still “working to find clear, consistent answers” to voters in the wake of calls from progressives in 2020 to defund the police.
“That needs to change — and fast. The stupidity from the White House will only intensify heading into the 2026 midterms,” he said, referring to President Trump’s strategy on crime.
“We need to be ready to not just counter punch, but to go on offense when talking about crime. Democrats can’t get caught up litigating stupid slogans,” he continued. “The good news is that former Virginia Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who is on the ballot this November for governor in Virginia, is delivering a masterclass in what credible leadership on stopping crime looks like.”
Carville cited Spanberger’s law enforcement background as a CIA officer and past criticisms of progressives’ calls to defund the police,
“Instead of following the worst instincts of her party, Spanberger has repeatedly stuck to her guns and bucked the party orthodoxy. She talks about what it means to wear the badge, and what it meant to see her dad put one on every day when he went to work,” he said, referring to Spanberger’s father’s status as a former police officer.
Carville’s op-ed comes as Trump and Republicans zero in on the issue of crime. Trump has federalized the police department in Washington, D.C., and has deployed the National Guard to the city. The president has also threatened to deploy the National Guard to other major cities.
Combating crime has generally been a messaging strength for Trump and Republicans, particularly after the party used progressive calls to defund police departments to paint Democrats across the board as too liberal and weak on the issue.
However, Spanberger has repeatedly leaned into her into her background in law enforcement on the campaign trail. And last month, the Virginia Police Benevolent Association notably endorsed Spanberger over Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the governor’s race. The union also endorsed the Republican nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general.
"They notably snubbed Spanberger’s opponent in this year’s race, current Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who these police had endorsed in 2021 and whose campaign highlights to-date include telling recently laid-off Virginians that she doesn’t 'understand why' losing your job is 'a huge, huge thing,'" Carville said.
The Decision Desk HQ polling average shows Spanberger leading Earle-Sears 47.1 percent to 38.7 percent.