'Backyard brawl' ignites as West Virginia's Morrisey moves to poach blue state rival Spanberger's jobs

Even though some of these proposals never made it to Spanberger's desk or claimed her signature, the political climate has prompted West Virginia officials to actively target Virginia's workforce and employers, pitching lower taxes and fewer regulations as a competitive alternative.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Morrisey said he plans to take that pitch directly into Virginia communities, including Loudoun County, to draw businesses and workers into West Virginia.

"We're going to be spending some time in Loudoun County and all across Virginia on making the pitch and the comparison of the direction that West Virginia is moving in [and] the direction Virginia is going in," Morrisey told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the announcement of a new 275-acre commercial tax district he said will bring $200 million in economic investment to the three-county Eastern Panhandle region.

"The backyard brawl for our state's future is being won both at the kitchen table and in the marketplace," Morrisey said, noting that the Tabler Station project he unveiled is just one of many similar plans-in-action around the state.

"While Virginia chooses to burden its citizens and job creators with higher taxes, West Virginia is choosing freedom, fiscal responsibility, and a tax climate that makes our state more competitive for business than our neighbor."

The governor also alluded to a growing trend of Washington, D.C.-area workers moving into West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, despite long commutes and limited rail service.

"The difference between Virginia and West Virginia couldn't be more clear," he said. "West Virginia is coming for a lot of those businesses that would ordinarily locate in Virginia."

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment.

The Democratic governor has noted she did not sign several proposed tax measures that never reached her desk, though she did approve a minimum wage increase and higher payroll contributions for family leave.

State Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Martinsburg - who crafted the economic development plans earning Morrisey's signature - said more people are already coming to his area along the Virginia line to "spend money, support local businesses and really help economic development."

The law stipulates that redirected taxes may not "adversely effect" the state budget. Barrett's law creates additional economic districts in Harpers Ferry, Henderson, Bridgeport, Princeton, Beckley and Wheeling.

While Richmond was seeking tax hikes, Morrisey in April signed a 5% income tax cut across the board and brought Charleston's tax code in line with President Donald Trump's federal tax-cut provisions.

Morrisey told the crowd in Tabler Station that it won't be his last visit to the Virginia borderlands on the economic development front, adding separately to Fox News Digital that statewide he projects 12,000 new jobs to have been added in the past six months amid a total of $12.5 billion in private-sector investment.

Spanberger said her administration has already made tour-stops in Harrisonburg and Fairfax to promote "bringing people together to shape a clear, forward-looking plan."