Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger is calling in some high-profile reinforcements for the final stretch of her campaign: former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Bill Nye, the latter best known from his television show, “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
The pair will join Spanberger for a rally Tuesday night in Charlottesville as the Democrat seeks to energize younger and more progressive voters ahead of the November election.
The event marks one of Spanberger’s biggest campaign moments yet, blending star power with political momentum as early voting continues across Virginia.
Spanberger’s rally comes as she works to distance herself from Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones, whose campaign has been rocked by leaked text messages from 2022 in which he joked about shooting then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R-VA). The remarks have prompted bipartisan backlash and calls for Jones to drop out, though Spanberger has stopped short of doing so herself.
While she has condemned Jones’s comments, Spanberger said she has already cast her early vote for the full Democratic ticket, including Jones.
Join me, @PeteButtigieg, and @BillNye in Charlottesville this evening to get out the vote! Tune in here: https://t.co/v32Dd6C0qw
— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) October 21, 2025
The controversy, however, has been a political headache for Democrats statewide. A Virginia Commonwealth University poll released Tuesday shows Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares leading Jones 45% to 42%, while Spanberger’s own lead over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has tightened slightly — 49% to 42%, down from 49% to 40% in September.
The same poll found state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-VA) narrowly leading Republican nominee John Reid in the lieutenant governor’s race, 44% to 43%, underscoring how competitive the statewide contests have become just two weeks before Election Day.
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President Donald Trump offered an endorsement of Earle-Sears, calling the Republican “very strong” when asked about her on Air Force One last week.
With early voting already underway and the final debate expected later this week, Spanberger’s campaign bet that appearances with nationally recognized Democrats like Nye and Buttigieg will be enough to hold off a late Republican surge remains one of the most closely watched questions of this year’s off-cycle elections.