On Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who is barred from seeking a second consecutive term, attacked the Democratic frontrunner in the race to replace him, Abigail Spanberger. His accusation centered on Fairfax County’s protections for transgender students and the former congresswoman’s support for LGBTQ+ people.
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“These radical gender policies are not just some abstract fight over politics — they are hurting real children in Fairfax County schools every day. We are working with the U.S. Department of Education to reverse these policies and protect girls in our schools but every Virginia parent needs to understand this: @winwithwinsome will fight with you, and @SpanbergerforVA will fight against you,” Youngkin wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The post promoting his lieutenant governor, Winsom Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate, echoed Earle-Sears’s recent complaints about Spanberger, a former CIA officer and three-term congresswoman who leads in early polling. Virginia is the only state in the country where governors are prohibited from serving consecutive terms.
Youngkin’s remarks included claims from the Defense of Freedom Institute, a conservative group staffed by former Trump officials that recently filed a Title IX complaint against Fairfax County Public Schools. Title IX is a federal law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. It has long been credited with expanding opportunities for women and girls in sports and academics. Republicans have claimed that protecting trans students under Title IX harms cisgender women in education and sports.
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The complaint centers on a transgender girl at West Springfield High School in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., who used the girls’ locker room. It alleges that administrators violated Title IX by allowing her access, despite objections from some parents.
Fairfax officials, however, say their policies comply with anti-discrimination law and ensure all students are treated with dignity.
Youngkin’s attack coincided with a broader move by the Trump administration. On Thursday, the Education Department announced it would cancel more than $65 million in magnet school grants for New York City, Chicago, and Fairfax County after the districts refused to change policies protecting transgender and nonbinary students or to roll back diversity and equity programs, the New York Times reports. Magnet schools are specialized public schools designed to promote integration and offer advanced curricula, leaving thousands of students at risk of losing access to resources.
Federal officials justified the cuts as a defense of civil rights, arguing that gender-inclusive policies discriminate against cisgender girls. Advocates counter that the administration is weaponizing civil rights law to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ youth and undermine racial equity initiatives.
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For Republicans, the fight is also campaign messaging. Earle-Sears has leaned heavily on cultural issues, airing an ad that depicted transgender girls as threats to their peers, which LGBTQ+ advocates condemned as “fearmongering.” Another Republican spot mocked they/them pronouns, repeating an attack President Donald Trump used in his 2024 campaign against former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Spanberger has taken the opposite tack, centering her campaign on affordability, safety, and education quality. Asked recently about her position on transgender girls in sports and bathrooms, Spanberger told ABC affiliate WSET that Virginia had for years relied on a local, case-by-case process in which principals, parents, and coaches weighed factors like age, competitiveness, and safety. “It was one that took individual circumstances and individual communities into account, and I think that is the process that Virginia should continue to utilize,” she said, adding that she recognized concerns from parents as the mother of three daughters in public schools.
This article originally appeared on Advocate: Glenn Youngkin injects trans issues into Virginia governor’s race, where Democrat Abigail Spanberger leads