VA AFL-CIO Takes "No Position" on Spanberger, Endorses Dozens of 2025 Candidates at Williamsburg Convention
Spanberger's failure to secure an endorsement is likely based on her refusal to back repealing Virginia's "right to work" law.
Over the last couple of days, labor leaders from around the Commonwealth convened in Williamsburg for the Virginia AFL-CIO’s Twenty-Seventh Biennial State Conference and 2025 Political Convention. The Virginia AFL-CIO COPE Committee and delegates to the convention endorsed dozens of candidates in Virginia’s 2025 elections — but they took “no position” on Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger.
Though I’m not privy to the details of Spanberger’s endorsement interview, I have a feeling her support for Virginia’s “right to work” law played a major role in her inability to earn this endorsement. Recall that the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia voted unanimously to call on the General Assembly to repeal “right to work” in 2020.
That particular resolution noted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s passionate opposition to “right to work” laws, as well as the role of infamous Texan Vance Muse in the origins of “right to work” legislative propagation. Here’s University of Arkansas Associate Professor Michael Pierce for the American Constitution Society on the racist origins of “right to work” laws and Muse’s role:
During the Arkansas campaign, the Christian Americans insisted that Right-to-Work was essential for the maintenance of the color line. One piece of literature warned that if the amendment failed “white women and white men will be forced into organizations with black African apes . . . whom they will have to call ‘brother’ or lose their jobs.” Similarly, the Arkansas Farm Bureau justified its support of Right-to-Work by citing organized labor’s threat to the Jim Crow order. It accused the CIO of “trying to pit . . . black against white.”
In 2021, then Del. Lee Carter (D-Manassas) tried to force a vote in the House of Delegates to discharge his bill to repeal Virginia’s “right to work” law to the floor. The bill had been stuck in committee, unable to get a hearing. As Graham Moomaw reported at the time for the Virginia Mercury:
Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, offered a competing motion to block Carter’s attempt, calling it a highly unusual departure from the House’s normal procedures and leadership structure.
“We have a process by which we do business here,” said Simon, who handles rules issues for Democratic leadership as the caucus’s parliamentarian.
Simon’s motion to quash Carter’s attempt passed 83-13, with a dozen other progressive Democrats joining Carter to try to bring the bill to the floor.
Notably — and perhaps for the first time in Virginia history — the chair of the House Labor and Commerce Committee at the time, Del. Jeion Ward (D-Hampton), voted with Carter and progressives to stop Simon’s maneuver and to vote to discharge the bill from her own committee to the House floor.
The “Nays” voted with Carter and Ward against Simon’s (successful) motion to keep the bill off of the House floor:
Full Disclosure: I worked for Carter at the time of the 2021 discharge attempt.
2025 Endorsements
According to convention documents I’ve reviewed, the following candidates were either “endorsed” or the Virginia AFL-CIO is taking “no position” on their candidacies. “No position” means the campaigns are not part of the official Virginia AFL-CIO electoral program this year, though individual unions may decide to back these campaigns on their own.
NO POSITION
Abigail Spanberger (Governor)
Del. Charniele Herring (HD4)
Del. Rip Sullivan (HD6)
Del. Luke Torian (HD24)
Shane Boswell (HD31)
Jonathan Lucci (HD32)
Eric Klotz (HD39)
Donna Littlepage (HD40)
Biko Agozino (HD42)
Mary Etta Sumner (HD43)
Joshua Outsey (HD45)
Jamie Hendry (HD46)
Earnadette Farrar (HD50)
Sam Soghor (HD53)
Del. Katrina Callsen (HD54)
Angela Chainer (HD56)
Andrew Ward (HD60)
Jacob Bennington (HD61)
Mario Haggerty (HD67)
Elaine Walters (HD68)
Del. Cliff Hayes (HD91)
Del. Jackie Glass (HD93)
Del. Alex Askew (HD95)
Cheryl Smith (HD98)
Liz Richardson (HD100)
ENDORSED
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (Lieutenant Governor)
Jay Jones (Attorney General)
Del. Patrick Hope (HD1)
Del. Adele McClure (HD2)
Del. Alfonso Lopez (HD3)
Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (HD5)
Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra (HD7)
Del. Irene Shin (HD8)
Del. Karrie Delaney (HD9)
Del. Dan Helmer (HD10)
Del. David Bulova (HD11)
Del. Holly Seibold (HD12)
Del. Marcus Simon (HD13)
Del. Vivian Watts (HD14)
Del. Laura Jane Cohen (HD15)
Del. Paul Krizek (HD16)
Del. Mark Sickles (HD17)
Del. Kathy Tran (HD18)
Del. Rozia Henson, Jr. (HD19)
Del. Michelle Maldonado (HD20)
Del. Joshua Thomas (HD21)
Elizabeth Guzman (HD22)
Del. Candi King (HD23)
Del. Briana Sewell (HD25)
Del. JJ Singh (HD26)
Del. Atoosa Reaser (HD27)
Del. David Reid (HD28)
Del. Marty Martinez (HD29)
John McAuliff (HD30)
Catherine Rec (HD33)
Andrew Payton (HD34)
Jena Crisler (HD35)
Makayla Venable (HD36)
Sharron Burgess (HD37)
Del. Sam Rasoul (HD38)
Lily Franklin (HD41)
Cindy Green (HD44)
Yvonne Rorrer (HD47)
Melody Cartwright (HD48)
Gary Miller (HD49)
Joy Powers (HD51)
Risë Hayes (HD52)
Del. Amy Laufer (HD55)
May Nivar (HD57)
Del. Rodney Willett (HD58)
Scott Konopasek (HD59)
Sara Ratcliffe (HD62)
Forrest Miller (HD63)
Stacey Carroll (HD64)
Del. Josh Cole (HD65)
Nicole Cole (HD66)
Mark Downey (HD69)
Del. Shelly Simonds (HD70)
Jessica Anderson (HD71)
Randolph Critzer, Jr. (HD72)
Leslie Mehta (HD73)
Jonas Eppert (HD74)
Lindsey Dougherty (HD75)
Del. Debra Gardner (HD76)
Del. Michael Jones (HD77)
Del. Betsy Carr (HD78)
Del. Rae Cousins (HD79)
Del. Destiny Bolling (HD80)
Del. Delores McQuinn (HD81)
Kimberly Pope Adams (HD82)
Mary Person (HD83)
Del. Nadarius Clark (HD84)
Del. Cia Price (HD85)
Virgil Thornton Sr. (HD86)
Del. Jeion Ward (HD87)
House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (HD88)
Karen Carnegie (HD89)
Rodney Nickens (HD90)
Del. Bonita Anthony (HD92)
Del. Phil Hernandez (HD94)
Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (HD96)
Del. Michael Feggans (HD97)
Cat Porterfield (HD99)
You can examine the 2023 endorsed candidate list here, and I suspect the official 2025 list will go live soon here.