Spanberger: ‘This is the community that I want to serve’

A graduate of Henrico’s J.R. Tucker High School and the University of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger has made Virginia her home her entire life.

When she was a child, she moved to Henrico County and grew up in Short Pump. Her years growing up in Henrico and her involvement in public service prompted her to run for the Seventh District U.S. House District seat in Congress. She will face Dan Ward in a June 12 primary for the Democratic nomination to run against incumbent Republican Dave Brat in November’s general election.

Spanberger began her career in public service as a law enforcement officer. She also worked with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service becoming a postal inspector.

“So in that capacity, I was a federal agent,” said Spanberger. “I carried a weapon every day. I worked narcotics and money laundering cases on our dangerous mails team. And from there, after a couple of years, I moved to CIA.”

Spanberger served as a CIA case officer working to recruit people to do espionage on behalf of the United States government and collect intelligence related to national security priorities.

In 2014, Spanberger began making her way into politics by getting involved in advocacy related to working with Moms Demand Action and then working at the General Assembly.

“And then from there, I began increasingly being active with the Democratic Committee. I worked to advance the 2016 election. And then in the 2017 elections, I worked very actively for a number of thdifferent house of delegates members or candidates.”

No longer being constrained by the HATCH Act allowed Spanberger to get more involved in politics and after the 2016 election, she increased her engagement.

“Everything that we care about really at one point or another is political,” she said. “And legislation, either in Richmond or Washington, matters and impacts the things that are most important. So I wanted to be a part of ensuring that we are going in the right direction in terms of how we’re legislating and also even how we’re conducting our conversation as a country.”

If elected, Spanberger wants to ensure that the healthcare system is not an object of political gamesmanship and wants to ensure that the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and not undermined.

Spanberger also wants to pass universal background checks for firearm ownership and seek ways to invest more effectively intellectually and monetarily in education to ensure children have greater opportunities and ultimately become more fully engaged in society.

“I want voters to know that I believe we can right this ship, but we need people who are committed to having really hard conversations and being a part of the process,” she said. “At a time when so many people are reading the news of what’s coming out of D.C. and what’s coming out of the White House and feel like a frenetic sense of anxiety, I want people to know that I want to work every single day to get us back on path, to get us back on the right track, and to ensure that we move towards a place where our legislators in Washington are working to make the lives of their constituents better.”

During her campaign, Spanberger has spent her time across all localities in the district, talking to people and listening to what people want and need.

“[I]t’s incredibly important that we define the problems we’re trying to solve before we move forward looking at legislation,” she said.

Spanberger is proud of the volunteers who drive her campaign.

“We’ve got a bunch of volunteers here now because we’re doing a postcard campaign, and all of our paintings are done by volunteers,” she said during a recent interview. “My whole goal with this campaign has been to listen to people in this district and get people excited more about what shifts in Washington can be made and change the conversation.

“This is the place I grew up. This is where we made a complete life change because we wanted to come back to this community and invest in this community. And this is where we’re raising our kids.

“This is the community that I want to serve, and so it’s been a tremendous honor campaigning, listening to the stories that the people tell along the campaign trail. I am going to put in the work required to not just win this seat but then ultimately really do a good job representing this community and this district.”