Spanberger BLASTED by baseball crowd boos during ceremonial pitch at Richmond Flying Squirrels game

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger was met with boos from bystanders while throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a minor league baseball game in Richmond.

Spanberger attended the home opener for the Richmond Flying Squirrels in front of nearly 10,000 fans, appearing alongside Richmond Mayor Danny Avula. As she threw out the pitch, audible booing from bystanders at times overshadowed applause.

The governor, who took office in January, currently holds a 47 percent approval rating with 46 percent disapproval, according to a poll by The Washington Post. Despite winning the gubernatorial election with 57 percent of the vote, a 15-point margin, her approval numbers have declined in recent months.

Political scientist Larry Sabato described the drop as “stunning,” as she has fallen 13 points below the average for Virginia governors analyzed by the Post since the 1990s.

“A drop of that margin is stunning, and it should be greatly disturbing to the governor and the governor’s staff if it’s repeated in other surveys,” Sabato explained to ABC 7 News.

Spanberger has faced criticism over a series of far-left policy proposals that were backed by her administration and Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature after she took office.

These included a bill that would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for serious crimes, including manslaughter, rape, and possession of child pornography. Spanberger also faced backlash after signing a law that makes adjustments to state contracting requirements aimed at increasing participation from small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses, which systemically disenfranchises businesses owned by white men.

The reaction in Richmond mirrored a separate incident on Major League Baseball’s opening day in Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu and Governor Maura Healey were also met with boos from fans at Fenway Park.