WINCHESTER, Va. — Inside Piccadilly Grill in Winchester, the temperature of Virginia’s governor’s race feels as hot as the breakfast plates sliding on the counter.

The city itself leaned Democratic in last year’s presidential election, but the surrounding western counties overwhelmingly backed former President Donald Trump. That contrast shows up every single morning between coffee refills ahead of Election Day.

At the end of the counter sits former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman, who is endorsing Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor over Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

“She’s a political windsock based on where she thinks her base is going to be,” Riggleman said of Earle-Sears. "

Riggleman says Spanberger is competent and rational and wants what is best for Vir

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