Democratic candidate for governor Abigail Spanberger speaks Tuesday at the Moton Museum in Farmville.

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A total of 22.6% of Prince Edward residents are on Medicaid. That includes 36.7% of children in the community. As a result, proposed cuts to the program have people concerned. It was one of several issues members of the community shared with Virginia candidate for governor Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday night.  

The Democratic candidate continued her “Span Virginia” tour with a stop first in Appomattox at Baine’s Books, before speaking to a packed house at the Moton Museum. Residents spoke with Spanberger about rising prices and a higher overall cost of living, shared concerns about what the proposed Medicaid cuts would do and asked what the state could do to take some of the pressure off, if she were elected. 

“I’m deeply grateful to the people of Farmville for welcoming me into their community, for sharing their history, and for their continued commitment to bettering our Commonwealth and our country,” Spanberger told The Herald. 

Focusing on healthcare 

Part of Spanberger’s answer about medical treatment echoes back to our story from Wednesday’s edition about Cumberland Pharmacy. Part of the problem, and one of the reasons the pharmacy is merging with one in Farmville, comes from the way pharmacy benefit managers handle drug pricing. The General Assembly passed a bill labeled The Save Local Pharmacies Act this year, later signed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin. The law, which takes effect in July 2026, limits Virginia to just one benefit manager.

That’s a practice Spanberger said she would support and possibly even speed up, in terms of when it would go into effect. Also, she promised to hold the drug companies accountable, by enforcing price transparency laws here in the state and penalties when there is evidence of price gouging. 

Spanberger also talked about cracking down on hospital prices. She referred to the need to build a statewide hospital price transparency comparison tool. The goal here, she said, was to make sure Virginians are getting the best price available. 

Abigail Spanberger asked about cuts

And then there are the cuts. Beyond Medicaid, billions of dollars in federal funding has been cut this year, then restored, then some left in limbo again. Food banks in particular have been impacted, which creates problems at a time where they’re being used more than ever. 

In 2024, the FACES Food Pantry helped 2,455 people in Prince Edward, Charlotte and Cumberland counties. The group gave out 400,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to those residents. The one problem is that work was partially funded by a USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) grant. That funding is gone now, eliminated earlier this year as part of more than $1 billion in cuts made at the federal department. 

Spanberger couldn’t say how that could be helped on a state level, pointing out that we still don’t even know which cuts, if any, will make the final version of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” currently being fought over in Congress. It’s hard to say what the state can or can’t do without knowing what the final changes will look like. 

A trip through time at Moton

Another part of Spanberger’s visit involved a tour of the Moton Museum, walking through the history of the civil rights movement here in Central Virginia. The museum used to be the Robert R. Moton High School, a segregated all-black school whose overcrowding and dilapidated conditions caused Barbara Rose Johns to lead more than 450 other students on a walkout, in what would eventually become one of the cases forming the Brown vs. Board of Education lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court. 

“The Roberta Russa Moton Museum is a powerful testament to the courage and sacrifice of Virginians who worked to secure civil rights for all Americans, regardless of who they are, what they look like, or where they live,” Spanberger told The Herald. “It’s also an important reminder that the choices we make — as citizens and as leaders — profoundly shape the lives of our children and grandchildren. And today, I’m proud to stand with Virginians across our Commonwealth to build a brighter future for every family in Virginia.”

‘Span Virginia’ continues for Abigail Spanberger

Spanberger announced the launch of this “Span Virginia Bus Tour” last week at a rally at her high school alma mater, J.R. Tucker High School.

Before running for governor, Spanberger served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 2019 to January 2025. Before Congress, Spanberger served as a federal law enforcement officer — working narcotics and money laundering cases. She then served as a CIA case officer — working on counterterrorism and nuclear counterproliferation cases. 

Spanberger’s visit marks the first of a candidate for governor during this cycle. The Herald reached out to current Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears’ campaign to ask if she plans to stop off in this area as well but has no response by press time.

Editor’s note: To read more about Barbara Rose Johns, you can click here.