Politics- Rep. Abigail Spanberger is running against Republican Yesli Vega in Virginia's 7th Congressional District.
- Though Joe Biden clinched Virginia in 2020, Donald Trump carried Spanberger's district twice.
Two-term Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger faces off against Republican Yesli Vega in Virginia's 7th Congressional District.
Virginia's 7th Congressional District candidates
Spanberger, who previously worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and the US Postal Inspection Service, currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Agriculture Committee.
The two-term lawmaker has represented the majority-white district since 2019, leaning into issues such as supporting the bipartisan gun reform package President Joe Biden signed into law this summer and spearheading a congressional stock trading ban awaiting action in both chambers.
Spanberger was unopposed in this year's Democratic primary. She won 51% of the vote in 2020.
Vega is one of the conservative candidates backed by E-PAC, the women-centric recruiting effort run by Trump-aligned House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. Vega has also been endorsed by Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a conservative activist who was allegedly involved in trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Vega, a sheriff's deputy and district supervisor in Prince William County, beat a half-dozen, first-time candidates in the Republican primary.
A Vega win in November would be a major pickup for the Republican Party, which needs to flip just a handful of seats in order to reclaim control of the chamber.
Voting history for Virginia's 7th Congressional District
The Old Dominion's 7th Congressional District includes a big chunk of central Virginia, stretching from the exurbs of the nation's capital to the outskirts of the state capital, Richmond.
The district, which went for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, was redrawn to tap more into the left-leaning power center that is Northern Virginia following the 2020 Census, making it slightly more Democratic.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, Spanberger has raised $7.7 million, spent $7.4 million, and has $851,851 of cash on hand, as of September 30. Her opponent, Vega, has raised $2.4 million, spent $1.9 million, and has $425,886 of cash still left to spend, as of September 30.
Through mid-October, the race — including primaries — has attracted about $15.5 million in spending from super PACs, national party committees, and other non-candidate groups aiming to influence this race's income. Such outside spending is on the high end for 2022 House races across the nation.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has so far spent more than any other group.
What experts say
The race between Spanberger and Vega is rated as "tilt Democratic" by Inside Elections, "lean Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and "leans Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.