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We asked, you answered. Here are your most memorable moments with Mom for Mother's Day
Connie Walton (left); Carmelia “Dinks” Hinkson; and Denille Andrus, with her son Joe Tanner, are among the mothers who are honored and remembered on Mother’s Day.
Julie Walton-Davidson, Lora Hinkson and via Joe Tanner
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Julie Walton-Davidson, Lora Hinkson and via Joe Tanner
When Brianna McIndoe was growing up in Tampa, Fla., her mother, Lisa McIndoe, maintained a beautiful flower garden in front of their home that attracted neighbors who would stop by to admire it.
“To this day, I am impressed by her ability to grow something beautiful where there was nothing before,” recalls Brianna, now 34. “I remember sitting outside with her planting seeds in the early spring, and she would teach me about the different varieties.”
Among those seeds were various types of the cockscomb flower, a uniquely shaped, fuzzy plant that comes in many colors and was a favorite of both Brianna and her mother. The irony of it also being known as the “brain flower” held little significance for them at the time.
This past April, on a warm spring day while her children, ages 7 and 5, were on break from school, Brianna took them on a scenic 7 1/2-hour drive from their home in Augusta, Ga., to visit their grandmother Lisa in Lutz, a suburb of Tampa.
“When we arrived at the nursing home, my mom didn’t recognize me,” Brianna says.
After a couple of hours, Brianna and the kids left to visit other relatives and friends before heading back home. As they started their journey homeward, Brianna felt a strong urge to visit her mom again.
This time, they stayed for a few more hours. The kids worked on a puzzle, while Brianna attempted to engage her mother in conversation, even though it was mostly unsuccessful.
“Right before we were getting ready to leave, my daughter mentioned the puzzle, and I turned to my mom and asked, ‘Was I like this when I was younger?’ ” Brianna recalls. “For a brief moment, I saw a glimpse of my mom again. She laughed and said, ‘You were just like that as a kid. She is just like you.’ In that moment, I knew she remembered, and it brought me so much joy.”
Brianna’s story is among nearly 500 shared with NPR after we invited readers to submit their favorite memories of their moms, whether their mothers are still present for them to hug or live on in their hearts. Brianna’s experience is also one of many that highlight the struggles of mothers dealing with dementia. Brianna says her mother, 63, is in a nursing home, receiving full-time care due to early-onset dementia.
“My mom is both alive and gone,” Brianna says.
Amid this struggle, Brianna has contemplated the legacies that many think of when considering their mothers.
“Something she always tells me is to leave things better than you found them. I’m trying to do that with my kids, making sure they have a better life than I had.”
Brianna’s sentiments were reflected in numerous submissions from across the United States and beyond — as far away as Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. They came from people in their 20s to their 70s, representing many races, genders, ethnicities and religious beliefs.
NPR received a flood of nostalgic stories — memories of moms from childhood, along with adult reflections that often showed that no matter how old we become, moms still surprise us.
There were humorous tales of moms’ antics that left us laughing, valuable pieces of moms’ advice that we might just adopt, and stories that tugged at our hearts, especially those poignant stories about mothers who have passed away.
Many favorite memories of Mom stem from her advice
Michael Sweet’s mother, Donna Sweet, holds her 18-month-old great-granddaughter, Margot Higgins, during a family event celebrating her wedding anniversary.
Michael Sweet
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Michael Sweet
Unsurprisingly, stories about life lessons taught by moms are among the favorite memories people cherish. Even if you could barely walk when she dropped those gems, you may now be watching your own children carry on that legacy today.
Take Michael Sweet, 62, a father of four, for example. He recalls that of everything his mother, Donna Sweet, 83, instilled in him, the most vivid and life-changing moment occurred when he was just 4 years old.
At that time, Michael’s family lived in a small working-class town in Pennsylvania. It was a segregated neighborhood, but Michael remembers attending a preschool filled with “kids of all races and abilities.” The year was 1967, a tumultuous time in American history. Each evening with his parents, he would tune in to the CBS Evening News, getting “a rundown of the horrors” unfolding across the nation.
“Walter Cronkite had been showing news footage of a lot of people who happened to have darker skin color than mine marching down streets wearing Sunday-best clothing: men, women and, most impactful for me, kids,” Michael recalls.
“Then the film showed the same people being beaten by policemen. Firemen were knocking women and kids to the ground, and they were getting pinned against buildings by high-pressure firehoses. Worst, as far as I was concerned, was big German shepherds were being sent to bite all these people.”
The dog attacks were particularly incomprehensible to him, as his favorite TV show featured Lassie, a heroic collie. This shocking contrast upended his understanding of the world; to him, police and firefighters were figures who protected people, not ones who caused harm. Confused, he finally asked his mother why these people were being hurt.
“Was it because Black people are bad? That was the only logical answer I could come up with,” Michael says.
This question shook his mother, and she devised a plan to help him understand.
He remembers her saying, “Some people just won’t accept others if their shells are different colors.” His mother helped him understand that the protests he saw on TV were about people demonstrating against the mistreatment of Black individuals because of the color of their skin, and that such behavior was wrong.
Michael doesn’t recall many discussions about civil rights, but that conversation with his mother was “all I ever needed to set my moral compass.”
“From that moment, I knew I was going to protect anyone who was being treated mean[ly] even if it meant stopping the police.”
Later in life, Michael became a police officer in Ohio.
“I wasn’t able to help those kids back in 1967, but for 29 years, that was my number one job — protecting anyone in harm’s way.”
“Mary Had a Little Lamb”
Bobbi Jo Dziuk (left) with her mother, Eva Erbele.
Bobbi Jo Dziuk
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Bobbi Jo Dziuk
In the late 1940s, Bobbi Jo Dziuk’s dad was a bachelor farmer living in North Dakota. One of his brothers met a lovely woman from New York and got married. It turned out she had a lovely single cousin as well. Thus began the courtship between Bobbi’s parents, which initially took place through letters. They married in January 1956, and Bobbi’s mom, Eva Erbele, moved to bitterly cold North Dakota. This transition was particularly challenging for a woman who had grown up in tropical Puerto Rico before moving to the Bronx. But the newlywed couple believed their love would keep them warm.
Over the next 60 years, they were rarely apart. One year, Bobbi’s dad needed surgery and had to be hospitalized overnight. Since the hospital was a few hours away from home, Bobbi and her mom decided to stay at a hotel.
“As we shared a bed that night, she asked if I would lay my head right next to hers on the pillow, with our foreheads touching and holding hands, ’cause ‘that’s how we fall asleep every night,’ ” Bobbi recounts. “I teased my mom if I should sing her lullabies too. Her quiet reply, ‘I would love that!’ So forehead to forehead, holding hands, in the dark, I sang my mom lullabies until she fell asleep.”
Bobbi, 56, remembers she sang nursery rhymes like “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Her father made a full recovery but died three years later — during the winter. The following nine years were difficult for her mom, as she had rarely been apart from her husband.
Bobbi and her siblings did their best to bring her comfort, even as dementia and Parkinson’s disease started to take a toll. Eventually, they moved her into a senior care facility, which helped her to adjust to being alone.
Before her mother became ill, Bobbi was able to create many cherished memories with her, including moments with Bobbi’s now 22-year-old son. However, she says none stands out to her like that night at the hotel.
“This memory has become more precious since she passed away [March 20] at the age of 92,” Bobbi says.
Mom’s cooking is the best
Lora Hinkson still cherishes the sweet bread that her mother, Carmelia “Dinks” Hinkson (pictured), made.
Lora Hinkson
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Lora Hinkson
For many people, Mom’s food is the best, and countless memories are created around the cuisine that shaped their childhood and has even been passed on as tradition. For example, Lora Hinkson from Barbados cherishes her mom’s sweet bread, a Caribbean delicacy filled with coconut. Although her mother, Carmelia “Dinks” Hinkson, has been gone since 2016, Lora, now an accountant in her 40s, can still vividly recall the delicious aroma of that bread wafting through the house and even into the streets whenever she thinks of her mom.
“The scent was special, yes. The scent, slightly sweet and spicy from the coconut. Added to that, also the warmth of the oven,” Lora recounts. “On cold rainy days, when the house could be cold and miserable, the warmth of the oven just made the house feel cozy. Welcoming. Like home.”
New York attorney Subhan Ali fondly remembers the enticing curry flavors that filled his family’s home while he was growing up in India and in their new community after they moved to the U.S. His mother, Syeda Ali, insisted on making several dishes for him to freeze whenever they visited each other, ensuring he would always have a taste of home and her delicious cooking.
Despite his efforts to dissuade her, she wouldn’t hear of it.
Subhan Ali’s mother, Syeda Ali, receiving flowers on her birthday in 2017.
Subhan Ali
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Subhan Ali
“On what would become my last trip to see her, her health had declined, and she had to be admitted to the hospital,” he recalls. “The doctor called to inform me that she had stage 4 lung cancer. At 88, this meant she didn’t have much time left. After the call, I walked back to her room, and before I could say a word, she said rather longingly, ‘If I were back home, I could have cooked something for you.’ In that moment, it hit me that she would never cook for me again.”
His mother died on July Fourth in 2018.
“Long after her passing, I warmed up some frozen food she had prepared and ate it,” he says. “My mother would have been in her seventh heaven that her children were still enjoying her cooking, even after she had died!”
Let me tell you about legacy
An equally impactful memory was shared by Suzette Takacs, a 71-year-old retired teacher from Campbell, Calif., of her mom, Phyllis Rosnes, who is now 95. Suzette says it has guided her throughout her life, despite it occurring when she was just 11 years old.
At the time, they lived in Southern California. It was just a typical summer day, and they were at a grocery store, where a large table displayed fresh green grapes. Both mother and daughter loved grapes, and Suzette gazed at her mom with anticipation, longing for the juicy treats. But her mother just stood staring at the grapes, appearing in deep thought.
“Mom looked down at me then and said, ‘I would love to buy some of these grapes, but I’ve been hearing that the people who pick them are not being treated very well. That’s not right, so we’re not going to buy any,’ ” Suzette recounted.
This was in 1965 during a time when Cesar Chavez and the farm workers union were instrumental in organizing the Delano Grape Strike and boycott, which lasted until 1970 and advocated for farmworker rights.
Suzette reflects that in that moment, her mom took a stance that taught her to always consider the plight of others and to help them, even in small ways.
“I love my sweet mom, but I love her all the more for teaching me this valuable and life-altering lesson. I’m still so proud of her! Helping others in need has always brought us the greatest joy.”
Suzette’s own daughter, Erin, continues this legacy by working as a teacher for children with disabilities.
Dorothy Taffner and her son David Taffner bonded over their love of crossword puzzles.
via David Taffner
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via David Taffner
Similarly, David Taffner, a 56-year-old manager in pharmaceuticals from Michigan, reflects on his own learning experience from his mother, Dorothy Taffner, who loved crossword puzzles and would solve them with his dad. It wasn’t until well into his adult life that he finally bought a New York Times crossword puzzle book. When his parents visited and noticed his unfinished puzzles, his mom offered him a simple piece of advice: “If you think you know the answer, write it in — it’s probably correct.”
For years, David ignored this advice. However, recently, after 20 years of second-guessing and five years after his mom passed away, he started following her suggestion. “And damn, she was right! I’ve got the right answer more often than not,” he says.
“Now, my daily habit of working a crossword puzzle brings me more joy because I know Mom would be nodding her head at all the things I’ve learned,” David says.
Do what I do
Julie Walton-Davidson’s mother, Connie Walton, 83, always emphasizes seeing beyond superficial appearances, which inspired Julie to instill that in her own daughters.
Julie Walton-Davidson
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Julie Walton-Davidson
Some lessons are learned not from what is said directly to a child, but from what they overhear when adults are unaware that they’re listening. This was the experience shared by high school teacher Julie Walton-Davidson. Now in her 40s, Julie recalls a grocery store visit from her childhood with her mother, Connie Walton, who is now 83 years old.
“A neighbor stopped to chat. I had turned the aisle when I heard the neighbor referring to me, saying, ‘… she is stunning.’ My mom responded by saying, ‘You should see her heart.’ She didn’t know I had overheard her, but that day she raised the bar and set it,” Julie remembers. “Her words have been a constant reminder throughout my life of what’s most important.”
Now, Julie is raising her two daughters, ages 20 and 23, with similar ideals, teaching them to always recognize their value beyond superficial appearances and to be good and kind individuals.
Honoring Mom after she’s gone
Elisabeth Simons stands with her husband, Harold Simons, at their wedding.
via Bob Simons
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via Bob Simons
Not every memory of a mother is reminiscent of a Hallmark greeting card or a heartwarming holiday movie. Not all mothers are portrayed as the ideal parental figures their children wish for. But losing a mother is undoubtedly one of the most heartbreaking experiences.
Many people have shared the moment their mom passed away. While the pain of losing a loved one is unfathomable, some find remarkable ways to honor their memory.
“My mom passed away on my birthday in 2019, at the age of 89,” recounts Bob Simons, a dad of three who lives in Atlanta. “I am truly honored that she passed on the same day that she gave birth to me 58 years earlier.”
Now 64, Bob cherishes that last visit he had with his mom, Elisabeth Simons, a Holocaust survivor from Vienna. She escaped to the U.S. with her mom and sister. She spent much of her adult life in Boston as a doctor and medical school professor while raising Bob and his sister.
“On the evening before she died … I was blessed to be able to spend an hour and a half with her, just listening to her reminisce about her life,” Bob shares. “She started our conversation saying, ‘It’s been a good life …’ to which I responded, ‘Mom, it’s been a great life!’ “
Elisabeth Simons (left) with her children Bob and Lee Simons in 2015.
Bob Simons
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Bob Simons
After her passing, many of her students wrote tributes, and Bob’s brother-in-law compiled them into a book. On Bob’s birthday each year — the anniversary of his mother’s death — the family reads these tributes in her memory. Bob also keeps her memory alive with the opening line he used in her eulogy:
“I still talk with Mom every day, the only difference is that now I can get a word or two in every once in a while.”
Joe Tanner has a similar memory of his mother.
Sure, he loved her laugh, watching her dance around the kitchen while singing country music, and of course her comforting hugs, especially as they sat on the couch in their cozy Utah home, where she would ask him about his day. But nothing compares to the day she showed up at his place after receiving an important message.
“My mom has always been very loving, but was also very religious. I knew she would be kind, but I also knew that it would be something that would make her have to face some decisions that were tough,” Joe recounts. “I knew that she was going to worry about me. I was too nervous to have to see her face or worry about the heartbreak, so I came out to her in an email.”
Denille Andrus hugs her son Joe Tanner in Bear Lake, Utah.
via Joe Tanner
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via Joe Tanner
The timing was incredible, he recalls. The day before he sent the email, his mom’s computer had been hacked, so she took it for repairs.
“The day she got her computer back, she saw my email and drove two hours unannounced to come and see me,” he says. She initially made small talk, he says, then “just grabbed me and gave me the biggest hug she could give and started crying. She needed me to know what happened and that nothing could have changed the love that she had for me.”
He was 32 at the time.
“Then we sat and cried together and made sure that we each knew how much we loved and appreciated one another.”
Joe’s mom, Denille Andrus, died six years ago of cancer. She was 61.
“She wanted to show love and support to me, as well as give a nod to my religious siblings and wanted to have rainbows at her funeral. She asked my sisters to paint rainbows on her fingernails.”
Mom’s high jinks and love are unmatched
Janean Schmidt from Spokane, Wash., shares a riveting memory of her mom, Janet Joregsen, now in her 70s.
In the mid-1980s, while they were living in Los Angeles, the musical Cats was all the rage. Although Janean’s mom was not a fan of the genre, Janean was obsessed with it. For her 16th birthday, she insisted on going to see Cats and, surprisingly, her mom reluctantly agreed. They decided to make a whole day of it, including dinner near the theater.
Janean reminisces about how back then during intermission, attendees could walk onstage and get close to the oversized set pieces and even collect autographs from characters.
“We all walk onto the stage, and my mom turns around to face the audience, and belts out just the title word to the show’s biggest hit: ‘Meeeeeemmm-rrryyyyy… There, now I can say I’ve sung ‘Memory’ on the stage of Cats,” Janean hilariously recalls.
“I occasionally remind her of that moment, I loved it so much.”
In contrast to Janean’s mother, Angel Limb’s mom, Cora Mae, had a strong affinity for musical arts, especially the tunes of World War II, during which she came of age. Cora loved swing and Big Band music, which she called “war tunes,” and she frequently sang these to Angel. By age 4, Angel knew the lyrics to dozens of her mom’s favorite tunes, believing no other genre existed.
“On my first day of kindergarten, l knew none of the songs my teacher Miss Leonard sang with the class,” Angel, a Virginia resident, recalls. “She asked why l did not sing. I told her that l had never heard ‘The Itsy-Bitsy Spider’ or ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm.’ “
Perplexed, Miss Leonard asked what songs she did know.
“l belted out a few bars of the Andrews Sisters’ 1941 hit ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,’ and added a few of their dance moves as well. I can still see the look on Miss Leonard’s face that clearly said, ‘What an oddball!’
“My first kindergarten report card described me as ‘… bright, confident, and offbeat.’ Unusual upbringing? Yes, please, and thanks, Mom!”
For Patricia Avila from San Benito, Texas, a similarly memorable moment occurred a decade ago when she took her mom, Aurora Avila, on a trip to Hawaii. Patricia was looking forward to her mother climbing to the top of the 750-foot Diamond Head, but her then-72-year-old mom felt daunted by the challenging ascent and opted to stay at the base. Patricia climbed with friends, and moments after reaching the summit, something unexpected happened.
“A friend tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to my mom,” Patricia recalls. “I remember feeling surprised to see her on the top of Diamond Head and proud of her accomplishment. It was the highlight of the trip!”
My mom’s the undefeated comedian
Overall, the responses to our callout show that even though some may not have the most joyful experiences with their mom, the memories that are most cherished are those precious moments that make a child feel most comforted, safe, cared for and valued. Scarcely would a child feel love without the undeniable support of their mom and presence of laughter.
English professor Makayla Steiner, 39, dares you to prove this notion wrong with her reflection on running for student council in ninth grade. She was quiet and shy, and neither she nor her mom, Camille Callister, a high school teacher, was sure she would be elected.
Makayla Steiner poses with campaign posters for student council that her mom, Camille Callister, helped her make.
via Makayla Steiner
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via Makayla Steiner
However, her mom diligently helped her make campaign posters and treats. When the winners were announced, Makayla was shocked to see her name on the list. She gathered posters and walked home, excited to tell her mom. As she entered the front door, her mother looked at her in anticipation.
“I smiled, shrugged, and said, ‘I won!’ ” Makayla recalls.
Her mom screamed with joy, hugged her, and they danced around. Then, Camille pulled a cake out of the oven.
Makayla Steiner (left) with her mom, Camille Callister.
Camille Callister
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Camille Callister
“It was colorfully decorated and she had piped ‘The thrill of victory!’ on top,” Makayla remembers.
Makayla was pleased, but she wondered aloud what her mother would have done if she had lost.
Her mom grinned sheepishly, then went back to the oven and pulled out a smaller cake.
“She had decorated it with blue foot-shaped candies and had piped ‘Da Agony of Da-Feet!’ on it. I laughed, and in the 20-plus years since then, I have remembered fondly that lesson: that win or lose, my mom was going to be there for and with me, and in good humor. She’s the best!”
Happy Mother’s Day to all moms — whether alive or living on in our hearts!
Virginians approved a new congressional map on Tuesday that would aggressively gerrymander the state in the Democrats’ favor, giving the party as many as four more U.S. House seats.
The new map draws eight safely Democratic districts and two competitive districts that lean Democratic, according to a New York Times analysis of 2024 presidential results. It leaves just one safe Republican seat, compared with the five seats the G.O.P. holds on the current map.
The proposed map was drawn by Democratic state legislators and approved by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat. It eliminates three Republican-held seats in part by slicing the densely populated suburbs in Arlington and Fairfax Counties and reallocating their overwhelmingly Democratic voters into five congressional districts, some stretching more than a hundred miles into Republican areas.
Perhaps the most extreme new district is the Seventh, which begins at the Potomac River and stretches to the west and south in a manner that resembles a pair of lobster claws. Several well-known Virginia Democrats have already announced their candidacies and begun campaigning in the district.
Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks as FBI Director Kash Patel listens during a news conference at the Justice Department on Tuesday in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP
WASHINGTON — The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to pay informants to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
The Justice Department alleges the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the very extremism it claimed to be fighting, with payments of at least $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to people affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, the United Klans of America, the National Socialist Party of America and other extremist groups.
“The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” Blanche said.
The civil rights group faces charges including wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case brought by the Justice Department in Alabama, where the organization is based.
The indictment came shortly after SPLC revealed the existence of a criminal investigation into its program to pay informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities. The group said the program was used to monitor threats of violence and the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement.
SPLC CEO Bryan Fair said the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.”
Blanche said the money was passed from the center through two different bank accounts before being loaded onto prepaid cards to give to the members of the extremist groups, which also included the National Socialist Movement and the Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club. The group never disclosed to donors details of the informant program, he said.
“They’re required to under the laws associated with a nonprofit to have certain transparency and honesty in what they’re telling donors they’re going to spend money on and what their mission statement is and what they’re raising money doing,” he said.
The indictment includes details on at least nine unnamed informants were paid by the SPLC through a secret program that prosecutors say began in the 1980s. Within the SPLC, they were known as field sources or “the Fs,” according to the indictment. One informant was paid more than $1 million between 2014 and 2023 while affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Alliance, the indictment said. Another was the Imperial Wizard of the United Klans of America.
The SPLC said the program was kept quiet to protect the safety of informants.
“When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system,” Fair said. “There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives.”
The center has been targeted by Republicans
The SPLC, which is based in Montgomery, Alabama, was founded in 1971 and used civil litigation to fight white supremacist groups. The nonprofit has become a popular target among Republicans who see it as overly leftist and partisan.
The investigation could add to concerns that Trump’s Republican administration is using the Justice Department to go after conservative opponents and his critics. It follows a number of other investigations into Trump foes that have raised questions about whether the law enforcement agency has been turned into a political weapon.
The SPLC has faced intense criticism from conservatives, who have accused it of unfairly maligning right-wing organizations as extremist groups because of their viewpoints. The center regularly condemns Trump’s rhetoric and policies around voting rights, immigration and other issues.
The center came under fresh scrutiny after the assassination last year of conservative activist Charlie Kirk brought renewed attention to its characterization of the group that Kirk founded and led. The center included a section on that group, Turning Point USA, in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024” that described the group as “A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said last year that the agency was severing its relationship with the center, which had long provided law enforcement with research on hate crime and domestic extremism. Patel said the center had been turned into a “partisan smear machine,” and he accused it of defaming “mainstream Americans” with its “hate map” that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States.
House Republicans hosted a hearing centered on the SPLC in December, saying it coordinated efforts with President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration “to target Christian and conservative Americans and deprive them of their constitutional rights to free speech and free association.”
On the night of her resounding win in last fall’s election for Virginia governor, Abigail Spanberger told her supporters that they had sent a message to the world. “Virginia,” she said in the opening lines of her victory speech, “chose pragmatism over partisanship.”
But even then it was clear that the first big issue of her term would be as partisan as it gets: a proposed amendment by her fellow Democrats to allow them to gerrymander the state’s 11 congressional districts.
The push to redraw the Virginia map was another salvo in a barrage of redistricting spurred by President Trump in a bid to keep Republicans in control of the House in this year’s midterm elections.
Virginians vote on Tuesday on whether to adopt the proposed map, and if the “Yes” vote wins, Democrats could end up with as many as 10 seats, up from the six they hold now. The redistricting battles of the last year would end up in something of a draw, with gains for Democrats in California and Virginia offsetting gains for Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina — unless Florida lawmakers decide in the coming weeks to draw a new, more Republican-friendly map.
Historically, redrawing of congressional maps has been done each decade after the U.S. census. But with Republicans holding such a slim majority in the House, Mr. Trump began by pressing Texas to redraw its maps, touching off the wave of gerrymandering
Virginia Democratic legislators rolled out their redistricting plan last October, setting in motion the state’s lengthy amendment process just as the campaign for governor was entering its final weeks. At the time, Ms. Spanberger expressed support for the plan, though she emphasized that its passage was up to the legislature and then to the voters.
But even if her formal role in the process was relatively minor — Ms. Spanberger signed the bill setting the date for the referendum — the politics of the effort has loomed over the first few months of her term. Her support for the amendment has drawn accusations of hypocrisy from the right and complaints from some on the left that she has not been outspoken enough in her advocacy.
“There’s always going to be somebody who wants me to do something differently,” the governor said in an interview on Saturday at a rally in support of the amendment outside a home in Northern Virginia. “I will always make someone unhappy, and I will always make someone happy.”
Ms. Spanberger, a former C.I.A. officer and three-term congresswoman, won a 15-point victory in 2025 after running on a campaign focused on pocketbook issues. Centrism has been her political brand since she was first elected to the House in 2018, flipping a district that had long leaned to the right.
Now Republicans campaigning against the amendment have made Ms. Spanberger a prime target, deriding her as “Governor Bait-and-Switch” and highlighting an interview in August 2025 in which she said she had “no plans to redistrict Virginia.”
“This was the perfect opportunity for her to show that she is the middle-of-the-road suburban mom that she portrayed herself as,” said Glen Sturtevant, a Republican state senator. He dismissed the notion that this was an effort that had been thrust upon her, pointing out that she had signed the bill setting the date for the referendum. “She is certainly an active participant in this whole process,” he said.
Republicans have eagerly highlighted recent polls suggesting that Ms. Spanberger’s honeymoon is over, though because governors in Virginia cannot serve two consecutive terms, public approval is less of a pressure point than it might be elsewhere. Some of her political adversaries have tied the drop in her ratings to her involvement in the campaign for the amendment.
But a number of factors are at play in those sagging poll numbers. Some on the right are irked by her support of standard Democratic priorities like gun control measures and limits to cooperation with federal immigration agents.
But some of the most vociferous criticism of her from Republicans, up to and including the president, has been for a host of proposed taxes and tax hikes in the legislature — on everything from dog grooming to dry cleaning — that she in fact had nothing do with. Most of those taxes, which were floated by various lawmakers, never even came up for a vote.
But Ms. Spanberger did not publicly hit back against these attacks until recent days, a delay that some Democrats say was costly.
“She let other people define her,” said Scott Surovell, the State Senate majority leader.
Mr. Surovell’s frustration echoed a growing discontent among Democrats about the governor’s recent moves. For all the Republican criticism of her, some operatives and lawmakers said, Ms. Spanberger has not been aggressive enough in pushing for Democratic priorities, redistricting among them.
This criticism broke out into the open in recent days, after the governor made scores of amendments to bills that had passed the General Assembly. Some lawmakers and Democratic allies accused her of unexpectedly diluting long-sought goals like expanded public sector unions and a legal retail marketplace for cannabis.
“Our party base is looking for us to stand up and fight and advocate and deliver,” said Mr. Surovell, who represents a solidly Democratic district in Northern Virginia. “It’s hard to deliver when you’re standing in the middle of the road.”
In the interview, Ms. Spanberger insisted that she supported the purpose of many of the bills but had to make amendments to ensure that her administration could implement them.
And she said she had been explicit in her support of the redistricting effort, appearing in statewide TV ads encouraging people to vote “Yes” even as an anti-amendment campaign has sent out mailers suggesting that the governor opposes the effort.
But she said she had never been in a position to barnstorm the state as Gov. Gavin Newsom did in the months leading up to the redistricting referendum that passed in California. Mr. Newsom is a second-term governor in a much bluer state, she said, while she only recently took office and has been “in the crush of their legislative session,” with hundreds of bills to read and examine in a short period.
“Those who may not be focused on the governing and only on the politics, they’re going to want me to do politics 100 percent of the time,” she said. “And for people who care about the governing and not the politics, they’re going to want me to do governing 100 percent of the time.”
Her preference, as she has often made apparent, is for the governing over the politicking. But she acknowledged that it is all part of the job.
Asked if she lamented that the highest-profile issue of her term so far was such a polarizing matter, rather than the cost-of-living policies she emphasized on the campaign trail, she said: “Any person in elected office wants to talk about the thing they want to talk about all the time, and that’s it. So I won’t say ‘No’ to that question.”
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