PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) — When Rae Pickett knocked on Richell Hines’ door on a clear Saturday in early October, she walked into Richell Hines’ front door. She wore a pink T-shirt that predicted the case she wanted to convey to Virginia voters.
“Abortion is on the ballot,” it said.
Hines responded to Pickett’s knock on her door in Petersburg, Virginia, with a disarming smile and a T-shirt of her own: “He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.”
The ensuing polite exchange between Pickett and Hines revealed the complexity of one of the most stark political differences between the two women vying to become Virginia’s first female governor – Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. The winner will likely have an impact on abortion rights in the only Southern state that has retained broad access to abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a national right to the procedure in 2022.
Spanberger, a former congresswoman, is supporting a proposed state constitutional amendment that will only reach voters if Democrats retain their majority in the House. Earle-Sears, Virginia’s lieutenant governor, has been an outspoken opponent of abortion rights throughout her political career.
Both candidates described the other as an outlier on abortion. But they also focus on other issues, from Spanberger’s emphasis on economics to Earle-Sears’ opposition to the rights of transgender people.
Pickett, who works for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, specifically visited the homes of Democratic voters. She quickly encouraged those who responded to vote. If these people supported Democrats in the hotly contested House district—regardless of their justification—she knew that they were also fundamentally voting for abortion rights.
“I understand that in some circumstances it is necessary and in others it is avoidable,” Hines said when asked about her opinion on abortion.
She added with a sigh, “That’s a difficult question.”
Clear Choices for Virginians
Nationally, advocates across the abortion rights spectrum are watching Virginia for clues about how the issue could gain traction in the 2026 midterm campaigns, when control of Congress and dozens of statehouses is at stake.
“We know that the election here signals what the tone and temperature might be in other future elections,” said Olivia Turner, president of the Virginia Society for Human Life, which advocates against abortion rights.
About 6 in 10 Virginia voters in the 2024 presidential election said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of interviews with registered voters. More than half of Virginia voters said they would oppose a statewide ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Slightly less than half, 45%, said they would support such a restriction.
Polls also suggest that most people believe abortion should be legal in some circumstances but not in others, roughly consistent with national numbers: 62% of U.S. voters said last November that abortion should be legal in at least “most” cases.
In their most recent debate, both candidates addressed the nuanced opinions of voters like Hines.
Earle-Sears dodged a question about abortion, which she once called “evil” in a clip Spanberger showed in an ad.
“That’s not my opinion. It’s going to be what the majority of Virginians want,” Earle-Sears said. “There is a constitutional amendment and voters will make that decision.”
Earle-Sears insisted that Spanberger supported full access to abortion.
Spanberger remained hushed for a few seconds after Earle-Sears suggested that she supported the death of full-term infants.
“Abigail?” Earle-Sears said as the Democrat ignored the attack.
Spanberger countered by pointing to women who had suffered life-threatening and in some cases fatal infections due to pregnancy complications but were unable to obtain medically necessary abortions in states that implemented restrictions after the 2022 Supreme Court decision.
“Women died,” Spanberger said. “If my opponent became governor, she would do this to Virginia.”
Earle-Sears shot back: “Don’t lie like that.”
When asked about restrictions, Spanberger initially opted for a legalistic explanation of the “Roe standard” that the Supreme Court justices overturned. She reiterated her support for the constitutional amendment that she said would protect that standard. At the urging of moderators, she supported existing Virginia law requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions and certain controls for third-trimester procedures.
The constitutional change depends on the legislators
Virginia Republicans claim the change threatens current restrictions, particularly parental consent laws.
“The wording is so vague,” Turner said, arguing that women, including minors, could challenge any legal restriction as a violation of a state constitutional right.
The proposed change requires further approval from the Legislature before it can be put before voters. Abortion rights supporters have a one-vote lead in the House of Representatives.
Republicans have drawn attention to claims that a Fairfax County school social worker helped students access abortion care in 2021, which officials said were untrue in their preliminary findings. These claims are being investigated by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration and Fairfax County Public Schools under the direction of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Senate Health Committee.
“I think everyone in the commonwealth can agree that parents should know what their daughters are doing,” Del said. Phillip Scott at a recent Moms for Liberty town hall in Fairfax.
Currently, Republicans in Virginia have little hope of enacting stricter abortion restrictions because the Senate’s Democratic majority is not up for a vote this year. But in a state that elected Youngkin four years ago, voters could eventually pair a governor like Earle-Sears with a GOP-majority Legislature, clearing the way for tougher restrictions.
Linking abortion to parents’ rights, an issue that led to Youngkin’s victory, resonated with some conservative parents.
Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, who spoke at the town hall, compared a performance on women’s abortion-related history at a county high school to a “left-wing rendition of the alphabet.”
“Start with ‘A is for abortion’ and the picture of a coat hanger,” Lundquist-Arora said. The room gasped.
Virginia has become a “target state.”
Demand for abortions in Virginia has increased as other Southern states have implemented up-to-date restrictions or effective bans.
“We are a target state,” Turner lamented.
Autumn Celeste, a spokeswoman for the Charlottesville-based Blue Ridge Abortion Fund, said the organization helped 1,600 callers access abortion care and donated $578,000 to abortion clinics in the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Between 2024 and 2025, the clinic assisted 2,400 callers, Celeste said, an raise that is putting strain on the system.
More than 17% of recent guests came from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Despite potential consequences in Virginia and beyond, abortion is one of many issues on voters’ minds.
About three-quarters of Virginia voters in the 2024 presidential election said abortion policy had an impact on which candidates they supported in that election, and about 7 in 10 said abortion policy was an crucial factor in their vote. Still, four in 10 Virginia voters said “economy and jobs” was the most crucial issue facing the country at the time, and about 2 in 10 said it was immigration. About one in 10 voters in Virginia said abortion was the biggest issue in the country, and a similar share said health care.
Back in Petersburg, Hines said the cost of living worried her. She said she would vote for Spanberger even though she disagrees with Democrats on some social issues.
Still, her feelings about abortion were complicated.
“I don’t think it’s my job to judge,” she said. “Only God can judge.”
___ Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.
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